Another African Country Reportedly Overtakes Nigeria as Top Oil Producer

• Nigeria lost its top oil-producing status to Libya, which surpassed the West African country in March.
• According to OPEC, Libya produced 1.24 million barrels of crude oil in March 2024.
• Nigeria, on the other hand, produced around 1.23 million barrels of crude oil in March, compared to 1.32 million barrels produced in April.

Nigeria’s oil production drops

However, Nigeria produced 1.23 million barrels per day (mbpd) in March, compared to 1.32 million bpd in February. The March number represents Nigeria’s lowest rate since July 2023.

According to reports, the fall of about 91,000 barrels per day demonstrates the difficulty of Nigeria’s oil sector, which is hampered by poor infrastructure, security breaches in oil-producing areas, and operational issues.

Nigeria has also faced massive oil theft in the Niger Delta, with criminals targeting pipelines and other oil infrastructure.

Experts blame oil theft for low FX earnings

Experts believe that Nigeria’s forex profits are heavily reliant on rising oil output, particularly now that crude oil is approaching $100 per barrel in the international market.

Adeola Yusuf, an energy policy analyst and Lead of Platforms Africa, stated that oil theft in Nigeria’s oil-producing areas poses a serious threat to the country’s rising Forex profits.

“Now is the time for Nigeria to ramp up its oil earnings, but monumental theft and security challenges hamper it in other sectors.

“Currently, crude oil is close to $100 per barrel, and Nigeria stands a chance of earning massively from the windfall to boost its FX earnings, which will help stabilise the local currency,” he said.

Nigeria Reports Increase in Oil Production to 1.64mbpd,

Recently there were reports that the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission announced that Nigeria’s oil output increased to N1.64 million barrels daily in January 2024.

Apart from condensates, the output increased to 1.43 million barrels daily compared to the 1.34 million barrels recorded the previous month.

According to reports, in 2023, Africa’s largest oil producer produced an average of about 1.47 million barrels daily, a little below the projected 1.48mbpd.

Source: ZackGh.com