Nigeria’s daily oil production experienced a significant decline in July 2023, with a 13.6% decrease, averaging 1.08 million barrels per day, as reported by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).
This figure contrasts with the 1.25mbpd recorded in June.
The latest production data poses a notable challenge to the government’s ambitions, given its target of achieving 1.69 million barrels per day in the 2023 budget.
Furthermore, Nigeria’s production volume falls significantly short of the 1.7 million barrels per day production quota assigned to the country by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
Breaking down the data, NUPRC’s report highlighted that blended and unblended condensate oil daily productions for July were 38,258 barrels and 174,509 barrels, respectively.
It’s important to note that condensate oil production is not subject to Nigeria’s OPEC production obligations.
When considering the entirety of the data released by NUPRC, the average daily oil production for July was 1.29 million barrels per day, signifying a 12.8% reduction compared to the 1.48 million barrels daily average in June.
NNPC Limited, in its projection, aims to elevate oil production to 1.8 million barrels per day by the fourth quarter of this year. Measures undertaken to enhance production are anticipated to yield positive outcomes.
During a session at the Nigeria Oil Gas Energy Week, Engr. Adokiye Tombomieye, the Executive Vice President of Upstream at NNPC Limited, shared these insights.
The initial target is to reach the 1.7mbpd mark by the end of the third quarter.
Tombomieye elaborated on the strategies to achieve these goals, emphasizing asset integrity, production scale-up, well interventions, new drillings, alternative crude oil evacuation, and enhanced security measures.
Tombomieye further outlined specific initiatives, such as the resumption of production in challenged areas and developments in various oil fields, to contribute to the increased output.
Tombomieye emphasized the potential in the deepwater sector and mentioned key projects, including the Bonga North field, that would significantly boost national production. He underlined the importance of creating a favorable investment environment and highlighted how NNPC Limited’s restructured framework fosters equity for investors.