Nigeria's Oil Production Falls By Roughly 14.94 million Barrels

Based on the most recent data from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries' most recent Monthly Oil Market Report for June 2022, Nigeria's oil production fell by roughly 14.94 million barrels in the second quarter of this year. 

According to an analysis of OPEC data and the average price of crude in Q2 2022 drawn from reports on global oil prices, Nigeria's oil revenues fell by about N703.76 billion, or the value of the 14. 94 million barrels of crude that were lost during the review period. 

OPEC reported that Nigeria produced 1.299 million barrels of oil per day in the first quarter of this year based on direct communication from its 13 member countries.

But in the second quarter, this fell to 1.133 million barrels per day, representing a decline of 166,000 barrels per day. 

This suggests that the nation could not generate or lost roughly 14.94 million barrels of crude oil during the anticipated 90-day period in Q2 2022. 

The average price of crude in April, May, and June of this year was $104.58 per barrel, $113.34 per barrel, and $122.71 per barrel, according to data gathered from the international statistical firm - Statistica.

This suggests that the average price per barrel for the reviewed quarter was $113.54. As a result, Nigeria's oil revenues decreased by around $1.696 billion (N703,96 billion at the official exchange rate of N415/$) in Q2 2022 due to a loss of 14.94 million barrels.

The Federal Government has repeatedly lamented the decline in Nigeria's oil production, which they frequently attribute to an act of vandalism by oil thieves. 

Roger Brown, the managing director of Seplat Energy Plc, responded to the issue by stating that greater collaboration between the public and private sectors was necessary to address it.

Nigeria has a lot of crude oil and gas reserves, but Brown, who spoke at the recently completed 2022 Nigeria Oil and Gas conference in Abuja, cautioned that this could only be useful if properly utilized. 

"It's obvious that the amounts of theft on the oil side are simply unsustainable. Because of it, our economy is suffering, and that problem needs to be resolved, according to Brown. 

He continued, "On the gas side, it's about mending the value chain across the nation from gas to electricity, from molecules to electrons.

Additionally during the recently finished conference, NNPC Group Managing Director Mele Kyari disclosed that all operators in the sector—aside from the state-run oil company—had virtually stopped drilling for crude oil due to the drop in funding for oil investments. 

Speaking about the difficulties facing the sector, the NNPC boss said that while there were other issues, the problem of inadequate funding has truly had a significant impact on the industry.

Nigeria has the most oil reserves in Africa, according to Kyari, who also said that "we should be the top producer of oil, but today we have our issues, as my colleagues (previous speakers) have pointed out.

"Yes, there are ongoing dialogues and we are receiving support from government security agencies, as well as the Minister of State is providing us with leadership to ensure we solve this security-related issue. 

“We do, however, have other issues. Our industry has experienced a true and obvious natural downturn in recent years. Except for NNPC and a few others, nobody is drilling now when such a decline occurs and you are unable to put money into it to make up for it

So, if you don't drill and downturn persists, you will not only witness the consequence of theft and other vandalism actions that we are experiencing today, but you will also see the collateral effect of lack of investments, he further said.