Nigeria produced 1.56 million barrels of crude oil per day in October 2023.
This is according to data from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).
The recently released data shows a marginal decline in production from September 2023, when the country produced 1.57 million barrels per day.
According to the NUPRC data, in the month of October 2023, the country produced 1,350,573 of crude oil, 48,461 of blended condensates and 163,038 of unblended condensates, totalling 1,562,072 for the month.
From these figures, September 2023 still holds the record for the highest oil production level for the year yet. It is important to note that Nigeria is yet to meet its 1.7 million barrels per day oil production quota from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) for the year.
This has led to OPEC deciding some months ago to review the quota downward to 1.38 million barrels per day; effectively placing the country in a precarious position of being unable to increase oil revenues and limiting the country’s access to foreign exchange.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has said it is committed to increasing oil production levels in the country.
At a panel presentation at the Argus European Crude Conference in London last week, the Executive Director for Crude and Condensates at NNPCL, Maryamu Idris said that the NNPCL is working on ramping up oil production.
According to her, Nigeria encountered significant production challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic, characterized by decreased investment in the upstream sector, disruptions in the supply chain impacting operations, aging oil fields, and incidents of oil theft.
These factors led to declines in production during the latter part of 2022 and early 2023. In addressing these challenges, there has been a transformative shift with the introduction and implementation of a new framework for the domestic petroleum industry, namely; the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) of 2021.
This has revitalized the business landscape, and NNPC Limited is now adopting a more commercial approach to managing the nation’s hydrocarbon resources. Idris also highlighted the positive trajectory, mentioning that the challenges are diminishing with the PIA’s implementation.
She emphasized that NNPC Limited has established crucial partnerships with reputable financial institutions. These partnerships aim to stimulate upstream investments, facilitating the restoration and sustainable growth of production capacity in the upcoming years.
It is important to note that the federal government has said that it is committed to addressing security and environmental challenges in the Niger Delta region which have exacerbated crude oil theft in the region.
