Nigeria regains position as Africa’s largest oil producer

Nigeria regained its position as Africa’s largest crude oil producer in May, data from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has shown.

In April, Angola overtook Nigeria to emerge top African crude oil producer for the month. The country recorded 1.06 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil production in the month, while Nigeria recorded an output of 999,000 bpd. The April output figure represented the nation’s lowest production rate in 2023.

Oil production from the 13 members of the oil cartel averaged 28.06 million barrels per day in May 2023, lower by 464 thousand barrels per day month on month, OPEC said in its Monthly Oil Market Report released recently.

The report noted that crude oil output increased mainly in Nigeria, Iran and Angola, while production in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait declined.

Nigeria recorded 1.184 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude production in May, up from 999,000 bpd recorded in April, while Angola’s output rose to 1.111 million barrels per day from 1.06 million recorded in April, according to the oil cartel’s direct communication data.

The report said Nigeria’s economy grew by 2.4 per cent year on year in the first quarter of 2023 after growth of 3.6 per cent year on year in the fourth quarter of last year (2022).

“Nigeria’s economy seems to be continuously challenged by a variety of factors this year. Slowing growth in the services sector, slowing crude oil output, and a deceleration in manufacturing and farming industries are among the most important issues,” the oil cartel said in the report.

In recent years, Nigeria has recorded a surge in pipeline vandalism and crude oil theft incidents in its oil-producing region, a development that worsened the nation’s revenue challenge.

To curb crude theft, the NNPC launched an application in August last year to monitor the incidence of theft and vandalism.

The NNPC also awarded a multibillion naira pipeline surveillance procurement to a former leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta, Government Ekpemupolo.

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The recent rise in the country’s crude production comes at a time when the Nigerian government announced the removal of fuel subsidy.

President Bola Tinubu had, in his inaugural address on 29 May, announced the removal of fuel subsidy—the stance he had also maintained in his campaign as a candidate during the election.