Nigeria’s oil production rose to 1.18m bpd in November

Nigeria’s crude oil production increased in November to an average of 1.18 million barrels per day (bpd) from 1,014,485 bpd in the previous month.

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) said this in its latest crude oil and condensate production data for November 2022.

The production figure — which is a second consecutive month-on-month rise — represents a 16.87 percent increase.

 However, it is less than the 1.8 million bpd production quota set by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

According to the report, with the addition of condensate, oil output rose to a total of 1.41 million bpd from 1.23 million in October. 

Condensate is a mixture of light liquid hydrocarbons, similar to a light (high API) crude oil — usually separated from a natural gas stream at the point of production (field separation) when the temperature and pressure of the gas are dropped to atmospheric conditions.

Even though production recently improved, Nigeria has not been able to produce above 1.4 million bpd in 2022. 

Speaking on the country’s oil output, Timipre Sylva, minister of petroleum resources, said Nigeria should meet the production quota set by OPEC in May 2023.

Bala Wunti, chief upstream investment officer, NNPC upstream investment management services, said oil production has increased, adding that was a result of the government’s all-inclusive approach to the fight against crude oil theft.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect that so far, Nigeria failed to record above 1.4 million bpd in 2022 — not 1.14m bpd.