Nigeria’s oil production for the month of July has reduced, as revealed by the latest figures released by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC). The data indicates that the nation’s daily oil output declined by a significant 13.6%, settling at an average of 1.08 million barrels per day.
This is a notable drop from the previous month of June when the country recorded a more robust production figure of 1.25 million barrels per day.
The setback poses a challenge to the Tinubu-led administration’s target of achieving a production rate of 1.69 million barrels per day, a targetted in the 2023 budget.
This output doesn’t just fall short of the domestic target, it also fails to meet up with Nigeria’s designated quota within the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Nigeria had been allocated a quota of 1.7 million barrels per day.
A cursory look at the NUPRC report which was released yesterday further revealed distinct daily production levels for blended and unblended condensate oil during July. These figures stood at 38,258 barrels and 174,509 barrels, respectively. However, condensate oil productions lie outside the purview of Nigeria’s OPEC production quota.
Cumulatively, the average daily oil production for the month of July emerged at 1.29 million barrels per day. This marks a substantial 12.8% decline compared to the overall average daily production of 1.48 million barrels recorded in June.
Despite the setback, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Limited reiterated its commitment to elevating the nation’s oil production prowess. With measures already set in motion to bolster production, the NNPC plans to achieve a target of 1.8 million barrels per day by the final quarter of this year.
While disclosing the new target during a recent session at the Nigeria Oil Gas Energy Week held in Abuja, Engr. Adokiye Tombomieye, the Executive Vice President of Upstream at NNPC Ltd, said the aim is to attain the 1.7 million barrels per day mark by the end of the third quarter.
Tombomieye hinted that the new production targets would be achieved through asset integrity, production ramp-up, well interventions, new drillings, alternative crude oil evacuation, and enhanced security architecture.
He noted that upstream opportunities exist in the deep water space, while hinting that NNPC Limited was collaborating with its partners to achieve final investments on key major projects including the Bonga North field that would add 120,000bpd to national production.
Jesse Voyamba
