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Nigeria’s crude oil production dropped to 1.149 million barrels per day in January, from 1.422 million bpd recorded in December 2023.

By Mary Izuaka

Nigeria’s crude oil production dropped in January, data from the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has shown.

Oil production from the 12 members of the organisation averaged 26.34 mb/d in January 2024, lower by 350,000 barrels per day (tb/d), month-on-month, OPEC said in its Monthly Oil Market Report released Tuesday.

The report also noted that crude oil output increased mainly in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela, while production in Libya, Kuwait, Iraq and Algeria decreased.

Nigeria’s crude oil production dropped to 1.149 million barrels per day in January, from 1.422 million bpd recorded in December 2023, an OPEC survey that cites secondary data sources

However, according to the oil cartel’s direct communication data, Nigeria’s crude oil production rose to 1.42 million barrels per day from 1.33 million in December 2023, an increase of 91,000 barrels.

OPEC indicated it gets its crude oil production figures mainly from two sources, either as direct communication by member countries or by information released by secondary energy intelligence platforms.

Over the years, crude theft and pipeline vandalism and its negative impact on the country’s economy have been a source of concern to the Nigerian government.

In a bid to curb crude theft, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) launched an application in August 2022 to monitor the incidence of theft and vandalism.

The NNPC also awarded a multibillion naira pipeline surveillance procurement to a former leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta, Government Ekpemupolo.

Despite such initiatives, Nigeria continues to experience significant oil losses to vandals, prompting several international oil companies to shift from the onshore sector to offshore.

In October last year, the Nigerian government announced it would target 2 million barrels per day (bdp) of crude oil production by the end of the year.

Last November, the Nigerian federal government set a benchmark production target at 1.78 Mbps, 1.80 Mbps, and 1.81 Mbps, for 2024, 2025, and 2026, respectively, to achieve its revenue projection.