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Nigeria’s oil production dips to 1,466,185b/d

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) yesterday revealed that the country produced 1,466,185 barrels of crude oil and condensate per day in November 2023, The Nation learnt.

It was a decline from the 1,562,315b/d the country produced in the previous month of October, 2023.

The commission noted that the production dipped by 96,130b/d in the period under review.

In its report tagged "Crude Oil and Condensate Production November 2023," the commission noted that in the month under review crude oil output was 1,250,299 bpd.

The report further said 49,426b/d of blended condensate was produced in the period under review.

According to the data, Nigeria produced 166,429b/d unblended condensate in November 2023.

From the report, it is an indication that the country failed to meet its Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) quota of 1.8mb/d in 11 successive month in 2023.

Recalled that Nigeria could not meet the production quota the cartel approved for it last year.

Crude oil theft, pipeline vandalism have been blamed for the downtime the country is grappling with.

Last week, The Nation reported that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) cried out that it recorded 389 incidents of crude oil theft in two weeks.

The record emanated from the company's bid to eradicate crude oil theft from the country.

Meanwhile, the Minister of State Petroleum Resources, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri on Monday rekindled the country's hope for improved petroleum production.

He vowed that Nigeria will not only meet the 1.7 million barrels per day (bpd) crude oil production benchmark in 2024 budget but it will also surpass it.

Speaking at a Stakeholder's Interactive Session on Creating Value and Enabling Investments in Nigeria’s Oil and Gas Sector organized by Chevron Nigeria Plc, he also said the country has the capacity to increase crude oil production to 2 million bpd.

He expressed his commitment to fostering collaboration with stakeholders to enhance the country's oil and gas sector amidst his ambitious target for the year 2024.

His Special Adviser on Media and Communication, Nneamaka Okafor made this disclosure in a press statement yesterday.

She quoted the minister as saying, "The success of the upstream sector will determine the success of the midstream and the downstream and as a government, we are willing to sustain that engagement with the stakeholders so that in the year 2024 and beyond, we will together ensure that we produce not just the 1.7 million bpd that we need for our budget but ensure that we produce what is needed to meet the local demand."

The Minister outlined the trajectory of sector growth since the current administration took office, starting at about 1 million barrels per day and steadily increasing to 1.4 million barrels per day. He expressed his ambition to continue this upward trajectory, highlighting the government's commitment to creating an enabling environment for stakeholders to thrive.

"As a new government that is business-friendly, with a clear mandate to ramp up production, we are willing to ensure that our fiscal regime is competitive globally. My appeal is that this old marriage let us manage it, sustain it and improve on it. Whatever your concerns may be, let us put them on the table to disagree to agree," Lokpobiri said.

He reassured stakeholders that the government is working diligently to address the challenges facing the sector and is committed to providing the best playing field for both International Oil Companies (IOCs) and independents to make the necessary investments.

"As a country, we have the capacity to produce more than 2 million barrels per day. We have identified the issues bedeviling the sector and are already working on them. I would replicate this program with all the IOCs and independents so that we can make the sector work for all of us and Nigerians at large, and I know that 2024 will be a much better year," he added.

The minister also highlighted ongoing efforts to rehabilitate refineries and ensure the functionality of modular refineries to enhance the country's refining capacity, meet local and regional demands, and thrive internationally.

The Minister concluded by inviting stakeholders to join hands in building a robust oil and gas sector that contributes significantly to the economic growth and development of Nigeria.