By Business A.M.
Nigeria’s oil production dipped below the one million mark to its lowest point in seven months in April 2023 as the country’s output dropped to 998,602 barrels per day (bpd), a 21.26 percent decline compared to March, when output stood at 1,268,202 bpd.
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) disclosed this in its latest crude oil and condensate production data for April 2023.
According to the NUPRC report, Nigeria’s oil production decreased from 1.517 million bpd in March 2023 to 1.245 million bpd in April 2023.
Data from the upstream regulatory body showed that the last time Nigeria had production less than one million bpd was in August 2022, when it produced 972,394 barrels per day,and September when it produced 937,766 bpd.
The NUPRC further stated that concerted effort by the federal government and its security agencies as well as the NNPC and local security groups, to raise production and curb oil theft, resulted in an increased output in October 2022 when Nigeria recorded 1.014 million bpd.
In January 2023, Nigeria produced about 1.258 million bpd, which is about 23,000 barrels per day higher than the 1.235 million bpd crude oil output in December 2022.
The positive record was sustained in February, with an output of 1.31 million bpd.
Commenting on the current decline in oil output, Gbenga Komolafe, chief executive officer (CEO) of the NUPRC, said oil production is currently about one million bpd below “its technically allowable capacity”.
Komolafe, who was represented by Kelechi Ofoegbu, the executive commissioner for economy, regulatory, and strategic planning, NUPRC, at a host communities sensitisation workshop, attributed the low oil production to a number of issues, including the energy transition’s impact on hydrocarbon funding, a lack of investments, and insecurity.
“While the commission is prioritising efforts towards increasing oil and gas production and ensuring maximum federation revenue through the optimisation of oil and gas value chain, the efforts have been constrained by a myriad of challenges,” he said.
Komolafe listed the challenges to include; insecurity, low investment, and de-prioritisation of funding of hydrocarbon development arising from the energy transition.
The NUPRC CEO said Nigeria currently has the technical allowable capacity to produce about 2.5 million barrels of oil per day.
“However, arising from the highlighted challenges, our current production hovers around 1.5 million barrels of oil and condensate per day,” he noted.
The NUPRC has also stated that the output is expected to increase in the coming months as further measures are introduced and sustained to remove all illegal connections that aid crude oil theft.
