OpeOluwani Akintayo
15 November 2017, Sweetcrude, Lagos – Nigeria’s crude oil production dropped by over one million barrels per day, mb/d, according to figures from the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC.
Nigeria’s Minister of States for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, had said Nigeria’s production hit 1.802 million barrels per day in August.
However, production figures released by the OPEC in its November 2017 monthly oil report showed that, according to direct sources, Nigeria’s output for August was 1.630 mb/d, that of September dropped to 1.583mb/d, while that of October was 1.663mb/d, revealing a drop of over 1 million barrels per day since August when deducted from the 1.8mb/d quoted by Kachikwu.
Going by OPEC’s direct sources data, Nigeria’s production of 1,630mb/d for August, 1,583mb/d for September and 1,663mb/d for October, showed that the country’s production increased by 80 thousand barrels per day between September and October.
Meanwhile, OPEC said Nigeria’s production for August, according to secondary sources, was 1.802mb/d, agreeing with Kachikwu’s figure for that month.
That of September dropped to 1,792mb/d, while in October, Nigeria produced 1,738mb/d, making it a loss of 54 thousand barrels per day, tb/d, between September and October.
According to secondary sources, OPEC’s total crude oil production averaged 32.59 mb/d in October, a decrease of 151 tb/d over the previous month. Crude oil output increased in Angola, Libya and Saudi Arabia, while production declined in Iraq, Nigeria, Venezuela, Algeria and Iran.
