Article Summary
- Nigeria’s crude oil production averaged 998,602 barrels per day in April 2023, marking a decline from the 1.2 million barrels per day produced in March.
- The April production figures include 998,602 barrels per day of crude oil, 66,317 barrels per day of blended condensates, and 180,110 barrels per day of unblended condensates.
- Nigeria’s oil sector continues to face challenges such as the shift to renewable energy, economic and security risks, sabotage, pipeline vandalism, and technical issues, hindering increased investments and raising concerns about future oil revenues.
Nigeria produced an average of 998,602 barrels per day of crude oil per day in the month of April 2023, data from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has shown.
According to the data, Nigeria’s crude oil production for the month, showed a reduction from the 1.2 million barrels per day, it produced in March 2023.
Data on crude oil, blended, and unblended condensates production
It is important to note that the 1.2 million barrels per day produced in April is an addition of crude oil, blended condensates, and unblended condensates during the period.
In breaking down the figures, the country produced 998,602 barrels per day of crude oil, 66,317 barrels per day of blended condensates and 180,110 barrels per day of unblended condensates in the month of April. These figures make up 1.2 million barrels per day recorded for the month of April 2023.
When the data shows the amount of crude production recorded for the month, it also features production figures for each of the segments, all of which make up the total amount of production for the month.
So, it is important to understand that of the 1.2 million barrels per day shown for the month, some were condensates which are light liquid hydrocarbons, like light crude.
Reduced crude production figures
During the highlighted period, Nigeria did not meet up with previous production figures from January to March 2023. According to NUPRC data, Nigeria produced 1,258,150 barrels per day of crude in January 2023, 1,306,304 barrels per day of crude in February 2023, and 1,268,202 barrels per day of crude in March 2023.
Meanwhile, the country produced 998,602 barrels per day of crude in April 2023. Please note that these figures are only from crude oil, not blended and unblended condensates.
Old problems, new quarter
Nigeria’s oil sector faces several old problems ranging from the shift to renewable energy which has resulted in a lack of oil-centric investments, economic, political and security risks, crude production sabotage as well as pipeline vandalism, and technical issues.
Add these to the fact that Nigeria has still not been able to increase investments in its oil sector, then it could be said that some oil market experts who see a further dwindling of oil revenues in Nigeria, may not be barking up the wrong tree, given these production figures from April 2023.
What you should know
In January 2023, Mele Kyari, the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, said that the country can achieve a 2.2 million barrels per day crude oil production output in 2023.
If the start of the second quarter of the year shows the country is struggling with production, market watchers wonder what the rest of the year will look like.
