The latest Monthly Oil Market Report of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has shown that Nigeria’s crude oil production rose a little above 1.5 million barrels per day in January, meeting the quota set for it by the oil cartel.
According to the OPEC report, Nigeria produced an average of 1,539,000 bpd in January 2025, slightly higher than the 1,485,000 bpd recorded for Africa’s largest oil producer in December 2024.
OPEC noted that the figures are gotten from “direct communication” with the country.
However, based on secondary sources, the oil cartel recorded 1,495,000 bpd, 29,000 barrels lower than the 1,525,000 it recorded from secondary sources in December 2024.
OPEC Crude oil production decreased in January
According to the MOMR, OPEC’s crude oil production decreased by 118,000 barrels per day (tb/d) in January, averaging 40.62 mb/d, according to secondary sources.
- Meanwhile, the cartel maintains its forecast that global oil demand will grow by 1.4 mb/d in 2025
- It stressed that a healthy growth in global oil demand for 2025 would be driven by strong demand from the transportation sector and robust economic growth in non-OECD countries.
- It noted that the growth would be driven by transportation fuels, particularly jet/kerosene and gasoline, as well as the industrial, construction, and agricultural sectors in non-OECD countries.
“Growth this year is expected to be driven by transportation fuels on the back of strong air travel demand and healthy road mobility. Support is also expected to come from the industrial, construction, and agricultural sectors in non-OECD countries.
“Similarly, capacity additions and petrochemical margins are expected to continue to contribute to oil demand growth. In terms of products, jet/kerosene is expected to drive oil demand, followed by gasoline, LPG, diesel, and naphtha,” part of the report read.
What you should know
The Nigerian government has maintained its commitment to boosting oil output in 2025, from 1.5 million bpd to above 2 million bpd. However, experts say this may be difficult if issues such as oil theft in the Niger Delta and low investment persist.
- The government is looking to explore offshore drilling and the resumption of oil exploration in Ogoniland, among other options, to boost production.
- Meanwhile, the proposed resumption of oil drilling in Ogoni has been greeted with agitations from groups in Ogoni as they complain of poor representation of Ogoni people in the government’s engagement with stakeholders.
- The war on oil theft in the Niger Delta is also far from being won, with the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited announcing the discovery of illegal refineries every week.
