Market News

By Damilola Aina

Nigeria sustained crude oil production above its Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries quota for the fifth consecutive month in September, with daily output of crude oil and condensate rising by 2.34 per cent to 1.717 million barrels.

Data from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission also showed that the country’s combined crude oil and condensate production peaked at 1.84 million barrels per day on its highest-producing day in September, while output on the lowest-producing day stood at 1.68 million barrels.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Head of Media and Corporate Communications at the NUPRC, Eniola Akinkuotu, said Nigeria produced an average of 1.53 million barrels of crude oil per day in September, excluding condensates.

The statement read, “Nigeria Meets OPEC Quota for 5th Consecutive Month as Daily Peak Hits1.84m Barrels in September.

“Data from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission also shows that single day production hit a peak of 1.84m barrels in the month as Nigeria consolidated its position as Africa’s largest crude oil producer.”

The figure represented 102 per cent of the 1.5 million barrels per day production quota assigned to Nigeria by OPEC, indicating that the country exceeded its target by 30,000 barrels per day.

The September performance extended Nigeria’s run of meeting its OPEC crude oil production quota to five consecutive months, following average daily output of 1.53 million barrels in May, 1.55 million barrels in June, 1.51 million barrels in July and 1.5 million barrels in August.

The latest figures indicate that Nigeria has maintained production at or above its OPEC allocation despite persistent challenges that have historically affected the country’s oil industry, including crude theft, pipeline vandalism, operational disruptions and difficulties evacuating crude from producing fields.

The commission attributed the improved performance largely to stable production operations across most producing assets and the absence of major pipeline outages during the period.

It said the operational stability helped improve production uptime and the efficiency of crude evacuation, supporting the increase recorded in September.

“The improved performance was primarily driven by stable production operations across most producing assets and the absence of any major pipeline outages during the period under review. This enhanced operational stability supported improved production uptime and crude evacuation efficiency,” the commission said.

The regulator added that the sustained improvement reflected the efforts of operators and other industry stakeholders to strengthen operational efficiency, maintain the integrity of oil-producing assets and improve production reliability across the upstream petroleum sector.

“The sustained growth recorded in September reflects the continued commitment of operators and industry stakeholders towards improving operational efficiency, maintaining asset integrity, and enhancing production reliability across the Nigerian upstream petroleum sector,” the statement added.

A breakdown of production by terminal and stream showed that Forcados Terminal accounted for an average of 320,320 barrels per day in September, making it the largest contributor among the listed terminals and streams.

Bonny Terminal followed with 303,270 barrels per day.