May 16, 2024

OPEC agrees with NUPRC, puts Nigeria’s oil output at 1.28m bpd

THE Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC, yesterday, disclosed that Nigeria’s oil output, excluding condensate, rose month-on-month, MoM, by 4 per cent to 1.28 million barrels per day, bpd, in April 2024, from 1.23 million bpd in March 2024.

But on a year-on-year- YoY basis, OPEC disclosed that the nation’s output rose to 1.28 million bpd in April 2024, from 999,000 bpd in the corresponding period of 2023, indicating an increase of 28 per cent.

In its recent report obtained by Vanguard, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, NUPRC, presented a similar report, stating that Nigeria’s crude oil output in April rose marginally by four percent to 1.28 million bpd compared to 1.23 million bpd recorded in March 2024.

However, in its latest May Monthly Oil Market Report, MOMR, obtained by Vanguard, OPEC also put Nigeria’s oil output, excluding condensate during the period at 1.28 million bpd, based on information obtained from official sources.

But when information obtained from secondary sources is considered, OPEC maintained that Nigeria produced 1.35 million bpd in April 2024, indicating 3.6 per cent drop from 1.40 million bpd in the preceding month of March.

The report, which noted the output drop in some nations, including Nigeria, stated: “According to secondary sources, total OPEC-12 crude oil production averaged 26.58 mb/d in April 2024, 48 tb/d lower, MoM. Crude oil output increased mainly in Congo and Iran, while production in Nigeria, Iraq and Venezuela decreased.

“At the same time, total non-OPEC DoC crude oil production averaged 14.44 mb/d in April 2024, 198 tb/d lower, m-o-m. Crude oil output increased mainly in Bahrain, while production in Russia and Kazakhstan decreased.”

This showed that despite the battle against pipeline vandalism, oil theft and illegal refining, Nigeria’s output that was benchmarked at 1.70 million bpd, including condensate and $77.96 per barrel in the nation’s 2024 budget, remains relatively low.

Meanwhile, the price of the nation’s Bonny Light has dropped to $83.51 per barrel, from $90 per barrel, recorded last month, in the global oil market.