Nigeria remains Africa's top crude oil producer, as output in October rises to 1.35mbpd

Oredola Adeola

Nigeria has retained its position as the top crude oil producer in Africa, with a production of 1.35 million barrels per day (mbpd) based on direct sources and 1.416 mbpd (secondary sources) in October 2023, according to the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Monthly Oil Market Report (MOMR) for November 2023.

The report released by OPEC on Monday showed that Nigeria’s crude oil production for October 2023, increased by an average of 4000bpd based on direct sources and 17,000bpd based on secondary sources compared with the previous month.

OPEC therefore revealed that out of the 13 major OPEC crude oil producing countries, crude oil output increased mainly in Nigeria, Angola, and Iran, while production in Libya, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait decreased.

EnergyDay however gathered that Nigeria is still far from meeting its 1.74 million barrels per day OPEC quota, as it only drilled 1.35 million barrels per day (mbpd) in October.

The report showed a positive trend in the country’s crude oil output on a month-to-month basis, with a slightly lower but still significant increase from 1.181mbpd in August 1.347mbpd in September, and 1,351mbpd based on direct sources.

The report, according to secondary sources, showed a steady increase as the figures for August, September, and October have increased to 1.249mbpd, 1.399 mbpd, and 1.416mpd, respectively.

RIG COUNTS

The number of functional crude oil production rigs in Nigeria decreased to just 13 operational rigs in October 2023, from 15 rigs recorded in September 2023.

EnergyDay’s check revealed despite the country’s steady rise in crude oil production, Nigeria is still struggling to achieve above 16 functional rigs it recorded since 2019.

AFRICAN OIL PRODUCERS

Nigeria retained its position as Africa’s largest oil producer for the second consecutive month, Angola’s crude oil production rose by 51,000 bpd, bringing the total to 1.172 million bpd, in October, making it the second top African oil producer.

Libya’s oil production dropped by 26,000 bpd, bringing the total to 1.143 million bpd, making it the third largest producer in Africa.

Production in Gabon, Congo, Algeria, and Equatorial Guinea rose by about 10,000, 5,000, 3,000, and 2,000 bpd, respectively

EFFORT MADE BY THE PRESENT ADMINISTRATION

Nigeria, under President Bola Tinubu’s administration, has been targeting crude oil recovery and has sustained a sizeable boost in its exports up to October without any major disruption to shipments, according to shipping data and sources in the survey monitored by EnergyDay.

This is part of Tinubu’s efforts to revive Nigeria’s troubled oil industry, which is the source of much of the country’s wealth.

Tinubu is seeking more investments to revive an economy plagued by foreign-currency shortages, double-digit inflation, widespread insecurity, and theft of crude oil, its key export.

The President has assured international oil companies and returns on investment, this was also evident in his recent trip to Saudi Arabia, where he assured investors in the country of the safety of their investments.