OPEC: Nigeria’s oil production dropped to 1.31m bpd in December

The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) says Nigeria recorded 1.31 million barrels per day in December 2021.

This is according to the OPEC’s Oil Market Report for January 2022.

Checks by TheCable also showed that the output in December was 40,000 higher than the output produced in November 2021.

In December, Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) had declared force majeure on Nigerian Forcados crude oil after a malfunctioning barge obstructed a tanker path.

OPEC had said Nigeria produced an average of 1.27 million barrels per day in November, topping Africa’s producers’ list. 

TheCable reported that Nigeria’s production declined sharply to 1.35 million barrels per day by 45,000 barrels per day (bpd) in October from about 1.40 million bpd in September in the same year. 

In June, July and August, production averaged 1.31 million, 1.32m, and 1.24m bpd, respectively. 

Accordingly, for March, April and May, the country produced 1.43 million, 1.37 million and 1.34 million bpd.

In the month of January and February, Nigeria’s oil output were 1.42 million and 1.43 million bpd.

According to secondary sources, OPEC’s total crude oil production averaged 27.88 million bpd in December, increasing by 170,000 bpd from November. 

“Crude oil output increased mainly in Angola, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and the UAE, while production in Libya and Nigeria declined,” OPEC said.

The report noted that the share of OPEC crude oil in total global production remained unchanged at 28.3 percent, month-on-month. 

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect OPEC secondary data for Nigeria’s crude output instead of the direct communication data earlier used.