By Joke Kujenya
NIGERIA’s DAILY crude oil production climbed to 1.3 million barrels per day (bpd) in July, according to the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
This increase, reported in OPEC’s monthly oil market update on Monday, reflects data provided directly by Nigerian officials.
The report highlighted a 2.36 percent growth in output compared to the 1.27 million bpd recorded in June.
This rise solidifies Nigeria’s position as Africa’s top oil producer, ahead of Angola, which produced 909,000 bpd in the same period.
Congo ranked third among African oil producers in July, with a production level of 257,000 bpd. OPEC also noted a slight difference in figures from secondary sources, which indicated that Nigeria’s production had increased by 0.74 percent, reaching 1.38 million bpd, up from 1.36 million bpd in June.
In July 2024, OPEC-12’s total crude oil production averaged 26.75 million barrels per day, marking a month-on-month increase of 185,000 barrels per day.
The boost in output was primarily driven by Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Iran, while Libya saw a decline.
On the non-OPEC side, total production averaged 14.16 million barrels per day in July, a drop of 68,000 barrels per day from the previous month.
Kazakhstan, Russia, and South Sudan were the main contributors to this decrease.
Meanwhile, on August 9, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) announced plans to amend the Domestic Crude Supply Obligations Regulations 2023.
The commission also released crude oil producers’ production forecast for the second half of 2024 on Monday.
