Nigeria is no longer Africa’s top oil producer following an abysmal oil production output in May, the biggest decline among its peers at a time oil was trading at $121.33.
The latest update will further deepen Nigeria’s financial crisis as it means, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) could spend a huge percentage of its meagre export income to pay for its fuel importation.
According to data obtained from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Nigeria’s oil production reduced by 195,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 1.02 million bpd in May from 1.22 million in April, based on direct communication.
While this happened Angola’s oil production stood at 1.16 million bpd in May, based on direct communication.
Part of the OPEC report reads “Crude oil output increased mainly in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait, while production in Libya, Nigeria, Iraq, Gabon and Iran declined.”
“Preliminary data indicates that global liquids production in May decreased by 0.15 million bpd to an average 98.75 million bpd compared to the previous month,” it added.
According to the report, information based on direct information revealed that Nigeria, Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Kuwait, and Venezuela all recorded a decline in the month of May compared to the previous month, while Algeria, Gabon, Iraq, UAE, and Saudi Arabia grew their production.
Meanwhile, based on information from secondary sources, Nigeria’s crude oil production declined 3.37 per cent to 1.262mbpd in May from 1.306mbpd recorded in the previous month.
The continuous decline in Nigeria’s crude oil production puts the country’s oil revenue at risk.
Crude oil revenue is a major component of Nigeria’s revenue, accounting for over 50 per cent of the nation’s revenue. However, due to a persistent decrease in production and export, Nigeria’s oil revenue has continued to underperform despite rising crude oil prices.
