Ike Amos
Lagos — Nigeria earned N1.56 trillion from the oil and gas sector in the fourth quarter of 2019, appreciating by 16.4 per cent compared to N1.34 trillion earned from the sector in the third quarter of 2019.
According to data obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) Economic Report for the Fourth Quarter of 2019, oil earnings accounted for 59.95 per cent of gross federally-collected revenue in the quarter under review.
Specifically, the CBN report noted gross federally-collected revenue dipped by 10.58 per cent to N2.6 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2019, compared to N2.91 trillion recorded in the previous quarter.
The report also revealed that non-oil revenue, at N1.038 trillion, accounted for 39.96 per cent of total gross federally-collected revenue in the period under review.
Giving a breakdown of components of oil revenue, the report noted that the country earned N117.29 billion from crude oil and gas exports, representing an improvement of 104.77 per cent compared to N57.28 billion recorded in the third quarter, and accounting for 7.5 per cent of total oil revenue.
Earnings from petroleum profit tax/royalties, on the other hand, dropped by 5.36 per cent to N896.71 billion, from N947.53 billion recorded in the third quarter of 2019, while it also accounted for 57.35 per cent of total oil revenue in the fourth quarter.
The CBN report stated that, “At N2.602 trillion, federally-collected revenue in the fourth quarter of 2019, was lower than the quarterly budget of N3.759 trillion by 30.8 per cent. It also fell by 10.6 per cent compared with the receipt in the preceding quarter.
“The decline in federally-collected revenue (gross) relative to the quarterly budget, was attributed to shortfalls in both oil and non-oil revenue. Gross oil revenue, at N1.564 trillion or 60.1 per cent of the total receipts, was below the quarterly budget by 35.3 per cent, but above the receipt in the preceding quarter by 16.7 per cent.
The decline in oil revenue relative to the quarterly budget was due to shortfalls in all its components, except domestic crude oil and gas sales.”
In addition, the report put Nigeria’s crude oil production, including condensates and natural gas liquids, at an average of 1.92 million barrels per day (MBD) in the quarter under review, representing an increase of 0.5 per cent, compared with 1.91 mbd produced in the preceding quarter.
The CBN attributed the increase in production to reduced incidences of pipeline vandalism and restiveness in the oil producing areas.
It added that, “Allocation of crude oil for domestic consumption was 0.45 mbd or 41.4 million barrels in the review period. The average spot price of Nigeria’s reference crude oil, the Bonny Light (37° API) rose from $64.25 per barrel in the third quarter of 2019, to $64.87 per barrel in the fourth quarter of 2019. This represented an increase of 1.0 per cent above the level in the preceding quarter but a decline of 7.2 per cent below the level in the corresponding period of 2018.”