Nigeria’s crude oil production recovers for second consecutive month, hits 1.185mbpd in November
Oredola Adeola
Nigeria’s crude oil production has increased by an average of 171,119 barrels per day (bpd) in November, to 1,185,604bpd.
This was contained in the latest crude oil and condensate production data published by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) as output volume for November 2022.
Nigeria’s crude oil output is 556,396bpd below the 1.742 million bpd, Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ (OPEC) production quota for the country in the month of November 2022, excluding condensate.
This is the first time that the output level will reach 1.18mbpd, since April 2022 when the output level reached the 1,219,215bpd, before declining to 1,024,317bpd, 1,158,274bpd, 1,083,899bpd, 972,394bpd, and 937,766bpd for May, June, July, August, and September 2022 respectively.
Production level increased in November to an average of 1.18 million barrels per day (bpd) from 1,014,485 bpd in October, thanks to the resumption of exports of crude grade Forcados after a three-month force majeure declared by Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd., SPDC was lifted.
EnergyDay had in July published a report announcing SPDC’s plan to halt operations due to a leakage discovered in the mooring line at the Forcados oil fields attributed to an attack by vandals.
According to S&P Global, November loadings of Nigeria’s Forcados crude were estimated to average 178,333 b/d, or 5.35 million barrels, albeit, loadings at that terminal are usually as high as 250,000 b/d.
Nigeria’s Forcados grade of crude, which is medium and sweet, is highly sought after by European refiners.
The Nigerian Government has also intensified the war against pipeline vandalism, oil theft, and illegal refining in the Niger Delta, with the recent fight and clampdown on vandals and oil thieves.
The renewed actions against the vandals led to the discovery of a four-kilometer illegal oil connection line from Forcados Terminal into the sea which had been in operation for many years. That development limited the impact of oil theft in recent times.
The NNPC had since August offered a multi-billion Naira pipeline surveillance procurement to Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited, a company linked to Government Ekpemupolo also known as Tompolo, a former leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta.
The private security outfit has complemented the combative efforts of the armed forces including the Navy, Police and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), and other relevant security agencies, with so many success stories, including the recent arrest of over 68 vessels doing bunkering and illegal activities.
Mr. Bala Wunti, Chief Upstream Investment Officer of the NNPC Upstream Management Services had in a recent statement said combined efforts of the security agencies have helped to detect, deter and limit the country’s loss of 470,000 barrels of crude oil monthly.
He then released that the efforts are responsible for an increase in the daily average from 1.1mbpd to about 1.59mbpd.
