From Adanna Nnamani, Abuja
Despite efforts to boost oil production by the Federal Government, the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has said that Nigeria’s average daily crude oil production marginally declined to 1.485 million barrels per day (bpd) in December 2024.
In its monthly oil market report released on Wednesday, OPEC stated that this figure represents a 1 percent decrease from November’s production of 1.486 million bpd.
The organisation said the data was gathered through direct communication with Nigerian officials.
OPEC obtains its crude oil production data from two main sources: direct communication from member countries and secondary sources, such as energy intelligence platforms.
The report noted that Nigeria maintained its position as the largest oil producer in Africa, surpassing Algeria, which produced 909,000 bpd in December. The Republic of Congo ranked third, with a production of 263,000 bpd.
OPEC further noted that total crude oil production from its 12 member countries averaged 40.65 million barrels per day (mb/d) in December, a decrease of 14 thousand barrels per day (tb/d) from the previous month. While production increased in Libya, Nigeria, and Congo, it decreased in Iraq, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia.
Meanwhile, non-OPEC countries saw a slight increase in crude oil output, with production rising by 40 thousand barrels per day (tb/d) to 13.91 mb/d, primarily driven by Mexico, while Kazakhstan’s production saw a decline.
“According to secondary sources, total OPEC-12 crude oil production averaged 40.65 mb/d in December 2024, which is 14 tb/d lower, m-o-m. Crude oil output increased mainly in Libya, Nigeria and Congo, while production in Iraq, UAE, and Saudi Arabia decreased,” the oil alliance said. “At the same time, total non-OPEC DoC crude oil production averaged 13.91 mb/d in December 2024, which is 40 tb/d higher, m-o-m. Crude oil output increased mainly in Mexico, while production in Kazakhstan decreased.”
In contrast to the direct communication data, OPEC’s secondary sources indicated that Nigeria’s crude oil production actually increased by 30 percent, reaching 1.50 million bpd in December, up from 1.47 million bpd in November 2024.
OPEC had set Nigeria’s production quota at 1.5 million bpd for 2024, a figure that was extended into 2025 after being initially approved in November 2023. Additionally, Nigeria’s production target of 1.5 million bpd was extended through to 2026.
Heineken Lokpobiri, Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), has previously outlined the federal government’s ambition to boost crude oil production to three million bpd by 2025.