Increased crude oil production output from Nigeria was instrumental to the rise in the production output of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in December 2022.
According to Bloomberg, OPEC’s daily output in December was boosted by 150 barrels and Nigeria contributed significantly to this.
Thanks to the fight against oil theft, Nigeria recorded 1.35 million barrels per day last month.
The backstory: Nigeria had recorded huge losses from crude oil theft throughout much of 2022. The losses prompted the government to intensify the fight against oil theft later in the year.
- The NNPC found an illegal crude oil tapping site where crude oil was being diverted in the Niger Delta region.
- Since then, the NNPC has worked with security agencies and private security firms to uncover and destroy many more illegal connections that were diverting crude oil in the region.
Counting previous losses: In a December 2022 interview, Bala Wunti, the Chief Upstream Investment Officer at the NNPC Upstream Investment Management Services (NUIMS), said the country recorded a 700,000 barrels per day loss to crude oil theft which translates to 21 million barrels per month.
Recent interventions: On December 31, 2022, NNPC announced that it had destroyed a barge called MT Brighton 1 loaded with stolen crude in one of the creeks running into the Ramos River in Agge Community, a border village between Delta and Bayelsa states.
- The NNPC also announced that it had demolished a filling station, named Blessed Corporate Oil and Gas Services Limited in Opete, Warri, Delta State, for being in the custody of a truck laden with stolen crude and discharging the illegal contents into its underground storage tanks.
In case you missed it: The NNPC had said in Q4/2022, that in a bid to fight against crude oil theft, it had launched a new security architecture that is anchored on a rectangular architecture, reliant on a command-and-control centre technology that brings together the security/intelligence agencies, the regulators, and the community.
- During the 11th Practical Nigerian Content forum in Uyo, Akwa-Ibom state, Bala Wunti said Nigeria’s crude oil production as of December 6, 2022, was 1.59 million barrels per day.
