In December 2022, Nigeria recorded her highest oil production since April 2022, the latest Platts survey by S&P Global Commodity Insights has revealed.
The country’s oil production has been faced with oil theft that has hampered exports and resulted in significant oil spills and loss of millions of naira.
However, the survey released on Wednesday showed that Nigeria’s volumes rebounded to the highest since April of 2022, producing 1.33 million b/d in December, contributing significantly to OPEC’s increased oil production in the period.
OPEC and its allies increased crude oil production by 140,000 b/d as OPEC’s 13 countries pumped 28.98 million b/d in December, an increase of 110,000 b/d from November, led by Nigeria, while 10 non-OPEC partners including Russia added 13.73 million b/d, a rise of 30,000 b/d.
When combined, the alliance produced 42.71 million b/d in December alone.
The survey further highlighted that Nigeria saw major recoveries in its loadings of major grades Forcados and Brass River, while maintenance at the Bonga Field was completed in mid-November.
However, the report added that despite the overall increase, the alliance’s output still massively lags in its production targets, with the gap at 1.80 million b/d in December, adding that most members face technical or financial difficulties in sustaining output.
Meanwhile, recent data from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission showed that Forcados had a crude oil production rate of 6,579,692, a condensate rate of 593,980, and a blended total of 7,173,672 barrels for December 2022, as opposed to a blended total of 6,856,88 recorded for November 2022.
Brass, on the other hand, had a crude oil production rate of 581,198, a condensate rate of 45,010 and a blended total of 626,208 for December 2022, as opposed to a blended total of 431,672 recorded for November 2022.
During a forum on January 11, 2023, however, the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Mele Kyari, said that the country could achieve a 2.2 million barrels per day crude oil production output in 2023.
He said, “For us, we see a trajectory of restoring production including condensates within the year. We believe we can hit a target of 2.2 mb/d but our budget target is 1.8 mb/d, but we know that it is practical to do 2.2 mb/d within 2023.”