According to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, ‘Nigeria has reclaimed its status as Africa’s top oil producer, producing 1.186 million barrels per day (bpd) in November (OPEC).
Due to a decline in output in May, ‘Nigeria lost its position as the top oil producer on the continent to Angola.
Based on direct contact, Angola produced more crude oil than ‘Nigeria for a continuous six months, according to an analysis of OPEC’s monthly market reports.
Based on direct contact, the most recent monthly oil market report issued by OPEC on Tuesday indicates that Nigeria’s oil output climbed by 171,000 bpd.
BusinessDay spoke with experts who attributed the rise in oil production to steps taken by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited to stop oil theft as well as the reopening of the Forcados pipeline.
The resumption of the Forcados and the partial rehabilitation of the Trans Niger Pipeline (TNP), according to NNPC Chief Investment Officer Bala Wunti, lifted the nation’s oil production to 1.6 million bpd as of December.
According to Wunti, the nation increased output through working with security organizations, authorities, communities that produce oil, and other partners to stop oil theft.
Based on direct communication, the November data showed that Algeria produced 1.021 million bpd of oil, while Angola produced 1.088 million bpd.
In addition to using secondary sources to track its oil production, OPEC also publishes a table of data provided by its member nations.
The 13-member oil cartel also disclosed in the report that Saudi Arabia had the largest drop among OPEC members last month, losing 489,000 bpd.
According to the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission’s (NUPRC) monthly oil production status report, ‘Nigeria produced 1.18 million barrels per day (bpd) last month, the most since May of this year.
According to data from the upstream regulatory authority, the nation’s oil production rose from 937,766 bpd in September by 26%.
Secondary sources indicate that the overall total OPEC-13 crude oil production averaged 28.83 million bpd in November, lower by 744,000 bpd month-on-month.
“Crude oil output increased mainly in ‘Nigeria and Angola, while production in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait and Iraq declined,” OPEC said.
According to preliminary figures, compared to the prior month, global liquids production climbed in November by 43,000 bpd to an average of 101.5 million bpd.
“It is expected that the output of non-OPEC liquids (including OPEC NGLs) grew month over month in November by 0.8 million bpd to average 72.7 million bpd. This increased by 2.1 million bpd year over year, according to the 13-member oil cartel.
“Compared to the prior month, the percentage of OPEC crude oil in total global output fell by 0.7 percentage points to 28.4% in November.”
Estimates for non-OPEC supply, OPEC NGLs, and unconventional oil, while estimations for OPEC crude production are based on secondary sources, according to OPEC.
