OPEC says Nigeria’s crude oil production dropped marginally in December

The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) says Nigeria’s average daily crude oil production dropped marginally to 1.485 million barrels per day (bpd) in December 2024.

In its monthly oil market report on Wednesday, OPEC said the current output figure represents a 1 percent drop from the 1.486 million bpd recorded in November.

The oil cartel said the figure was obtained from direct communication with Nigerian officials.

OPEC obtains data on crude oil production from two sources: direct communication — which is from member countries — and secondary communication, such as energy intelligence platforms.

According to the report, the current production figure shows that Nigeria retained its position as the largest oil producer in Africa, surpassing Algeria, which produced 909,000 bpd in December.

OPEC said Congo produced 263,000 bpd in the month under review, making the country the third-largest oil producer in Africa.

“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.”

However, the oil cartel said secondary sources reported that Nigeria’s crude production increased by 30 percent to 1.50 million bpd in December — up from 1.47 million bpd in November 2024.

On November 30, 2023, OPEC increased Nigeria’s production level to 1.5 million bpd for 2024.

Seven months later, OPEC extended Nigeria’s production quota of 1.5 million bpd to 2025.

In December last year, Nigeria’s oil production quota of 1.5 million barrels of crude per day (bpd) was extended to 2026.

Heineken Lokpobiri, minister of state for petroleum resources (oil), had said the federal government has plans to achieve a target of three million barrels per day in crude oil production by 2025.