Nigeria lost about N720bn in revenue as a result of the consecutive monthly decline in its crude oil production in February and March 2024, The PUNCH reports.
Also, the country’s inability to ramp up production in these months made it to miss its crude oil production benchmark in the 2024 budget.
Nigeria’s 2024 budget set a crude oil production benchmark of 1.78 million barrels per day. This figure includes condensate along with crude oil.
But data obtained from the latest April 2024 Monthly Oil Market Report of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries showed that Nigeria’s crude oil production (excluding condensates) witnessed the second consecutive monthly decline since the beginning of this year, as it dropped to 1.231 million barrels per day in March.
OPEC stated that crude oil production details which it got through direct communication from Nigeria showed that the country pumped less oil in March when compared to what was produced in February.
Data from the report indicated that Nigeria produced 1.322 million barrels per day of crude in February this year, but this dropped to 1.231mbpd in March, representing a plunge of 91,000bpd.
The report further stated that the country had produced 1.427mbpd of crude in January, but this was not sustained in February as it dropped in that month, while the southward oil production continued in March.
It was further gathered from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission in Abuja on Sunday that both crude oil and condensates production from Nigeria had yet to reach the benchmark in the 2024 budget.
Data from the NUPRC showed that in January, February and March, the total volumes of crude oil and condensates produced in Nigeria were 1.643mbpd, 1.539mbpd and 1.438mbpd respectively. According to reports, the 2024 budget benchmark for crude oil and condensates production is 1.78mbpd.
SOURCE: PUNCHNG
