The Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission, on Sunday, revealed that Nigeria’s crude oil production rose marginally to 1.28 million barrels per day in April. The commission in its oil production status report said the figure was a 4.1 per cent or 0.5m increase compared to 1.23mbpd recorded in March. The figure didn’t meet the 1.78mbpd target for funding the 2024 budget but was more than projections by separate Reuters and Bloomberg surveys, based on shipping data and information from industry sources. When added to condensate oil, production was 1.447 million barrels per day compared to 1.438mbpd recorded in the previous month.
The production figures with condensate were 1.539 million barrels per and 1.643 million barrels per day in February and January respectively. Nigeria’s hope of substantially meeting its Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries quota was raised in December and January as the volume of output increased significantly from 1.33 million barrels per day in the last month to a multi-year high of 1.42 million bpd in January this year. But that relief appears to have been short-lived, with production falling to 1.32 million bpd in February and 1.23 million bpd in March 2024. The Minister of State Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri had spoken of the government’s plan to hit two million barrels of oil production by the end of 2024.
However, he has explained that the drop in oil production in the last few months was caused by issues encountered on the Trans Niger Pipeline, coupled with maintenance activities carried out by some oil companies operating in the country. Lokpobiri in a statement by his media aide, Nnemaka Okafor assured that measures were being taken to address the situation to, “not only restore production to previous levels, but to also increase it”.“The Minister is also pleased to announce that the issues have been adequately addressed, and production is expected to return to its previous levels in the coming days. “He anticipates that Nigeria’s oil production, including condensate, which was approximately 1.7 million barrels per day before these developments, will soon be restored. “Furthermore, the Ministry of Petroleum Resources is actively engaged in policy evolution aimed at maximizing the utilization of all available wells in Nigeria. This strategic approach will enable the country to ramp up production, thereby generating vital revenue to stabilize the nation’s foreign exchange reserves. The increased revenue will also empower the government to fulfil its commitments in providing essential infrastructure, as outlined in the 2024 budget”, she added.
Source: punchng.com