Nigeria’s crude oil, “blended and unblended and condensate” output fell to 1.47 million barrels per day in November, indicating a back-to-back drop in production level since October. Production level dropped to 1.56 million bpd in October after rising to 1.57 in September, the highest output level so far in the year. But the country could not maintain the momentum. This is according to the analysis of a new report by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC). Data obtained from the upstream regulatory body reveals that output dropped by 6 percent from 1.56 million bpd in October to 1.46 million bpd in November 2023. Crude oil produced during the period was 1,250,299. While blended and unblended condensate stood at 49,457 and 166,429 respectively.
The volumes of oil produced at three terminals—Bonny, Forcados, and Escravos—were lower in November 2023 compared to October 2023. Bonny Terminal produced 3,573,540 barrels, a decline of nearly 21.7 percent from its October 2023 output of 4,563,571 barrels. In November, Forcados Terminal produced 6,720,296 barrels of crude oil, a decline of around 15.4 percent from the previous month’s production of 7,933,984 barrels. In the same period, Escravos Terminal produced 3,890,073 barrels, a reduction of approximately 8.1 percent from the 4,234,584 barrels produced in October 2023.
For the highlighted month, production at the Brass and Qua Iboe ports increased slightly. In November 2023, crude oil production at the Brass Terminal increased to 778,085 barrels, up from 588,640 barrels in October. This is a substantial rise of around 32.2 percent. Similarly, oil production at the Qua Iboe Terminal increased in November, hitting 4,638,503 barrels compared to 4,620,153 barrels the previous month. This is an increase of around 0.4 percent.
Production at the Brass and Qua Iboe Terminals, on the other hand, has increased slightly for November 2023. Meanwhile, at the most recent OPEC meeting, Nigeria argued that the cartel should raise its crude oil production quota for 2024 from the proposed 1.38 million bpd to 1.5 million bpd. Nigeria’s OPEC crude oil production quota for 2023 was set at 1.78 million bpd, but the country was unable to reach that quota due to a variety of issues, including crude oil theft, a lack of upstream crude oil investments, and other related concerns. However, the country was able to secure a quota of 1.5 million barrels per day during the last OPEC meeting.
Source: businessday.ng