Libya has emerged as Africa’s top oil producer with an output of 1.24 million barrels of oil per day (bpd) in March 2024.
This marks an increase of 5.4% compared to the country’s output of 1.17 million bpd in February.
Announced by OPEC in its April 2024 Monthly Oil Market Report, Nigeria lost the top spot after reporting a drop of almost 91,000 bpd from 1.32 million bpd in February to 1.23 million bpd in March, marking an output decrease of 6.8%.
The production increase falls in line with Libya’s efforts to ramp up production to two million bpd by 2030, with the country’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) targeting 2.3 million bpd by year-end.
Strategies to bolster output by the NOC include an oil and gas licensing round in 2024, production resuming at the El Sharara oilfield in July 2023, and both existing and potential exploration and production players being invited to the country to explore for hydrocarbons.
