Nigeria’s crude oil production dropped to 1.354mb/d in March –OPEC

The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has said Nigeria’s crude oil production declined to an average of 1.354 million barrels per day in March 2022.

OPEC made this known in its Oil Market Report for April 2022 on Tuesday in Lagos. The report said the figure showed a decrease of 24, 000 barrels per day when compared to the 1.378mb/d produced averagely in the month of February 2022.

“According to secondary sources, total OPEC-13 crude oil production averaged 28.56 mb/d in March 2022, higher by 57 tb/d month-on-month. “Crude oil output increased mainly in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates while production in Libya, Nigeria and Congo declined,” it said.

The report noted that following a contraction of 1.8 per cent year-on-year in 2020, Nigeria’s economy expanded by 3.6 per cent in 2021. It said this economic recovery was most likely to continue over the course of 2022 with support from improvements in the hydrocarbons sector and energy prices. The report said: “Recent official data suggested that the annual inflation rate edged up slightly to 15.7 per cent in February 2022 from 15.6 per cent in January 2022, although food inflation remained elevated.

“Indeed, higher food costs related to geopolitical tensions could further fuel inflation. “In March 2022, the overall business improvement softened as Stanbic IBTC Bank Nigeria’s Purchasing Managers’ Index suggested, indeed it dropped to 54.1 from 57.3 in February.

Meanwhile, Eni, the Italian parent company to Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC), says the breach of its 24-inch gas line at Okaka in Yenagoa has temporarily crippled its gas export.

The firm said that it declared a ‘Force Majeure’ on its gas export feed to the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) in Bonny.

Force Majeure is a legal clause inserted in contracts to protect suppliers from liabilities due to circumstances beyond their control.