Nigeria’s crude oil production declined to 1.25mbpd in May

Nigeria experienced a significant decline in crude oil production to 1.25 million barrels per day (bpd) in May 2024, according to the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

This marks a decrease of 2.34% from April’s output of 1.28 million bpd, as reported in OPEC’s monthly oil market report for June.

The data indicates that OPEC gathered these figures through direct communication with Nigerian authorities. This method contrasts with secondary sources such as energy intelligence platforms, which also provide production data to OPEC.

Earlier reports had shown that Nigeria’s crude production stood at 1.3 million bpd in the fourth quarter of 2023 and the first quarter of 2024.

Despite efforts to combat crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism, spearheaded by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), the production decline persisted.

Nevertheless, Nigeria retained its position as Africa’s top oil producer, followed by Libya with 901,000 bpd in May, and Algeria at 264,000 bpd, according to OPEC.

Interestingly, while OPEC’s secondary sources reported a 5% increase in Nigeria’s crude production to 1.41 million bpd from April’s 1.35 million bpd, both figures remained below Nigeria’s 2024 OPEC production quota of 1.5 million bpd.

The OPEC report highlighted broader trends in global oil production, noting that total OPEC-12 crude oil production averaged 26.63 million bpd in May 2024, with increases in Nigeria, Gabon, and Equatorial Guinea counterbalanced by decreases in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Libya, and Congo.

Meanwhile, total non-OPEC crude oil production averaged 14.29 million bpd in May 2024, with Mexico showing an increase while Russia and Kazakhstan saw declines.

In summary, Nigeria’s recent production figures underscore its pivotal role in the global oil market despite operational challenges and quota restrictions set by OPEC for 2024.