Nigeria’s daily oil production for June saw a modest increase, rising by 25,000 barrels per day compared to the previous month.
This uptick is a positive development amid a year marked by consistently declining oil production. According to the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), the country’s oil production has been in a state of emergency.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) reported in its Monthly Oil Market Report for June that Nigeria’s oil production, based on direct sources, was 1.276 million barrels per day (mbpd). This follows a drop from 1.28 mbpd in April to 1.25 mbpd in May.
However, OPEC’s secondary sources present a slightly different picture, indicating a decline from 1.37 mbpd in May to 1.36 mbpd in June.
Mele Kyari, the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC, previously noted in May that crude production was approaching 1.7 mbpd.
He remarked, “As of today’s data, we’re inching to 1.7 mbpd. We won’t celebrate this. On 17th of April 2020, our production, without doing anything, without drilling new wells, shot to 2.2 mbpd. The difference was COVID-19. The thieves, the vandals, everybody went to sleep.”
Nigeria’s oil production has been on a downward trend since the beginning of the year, falling from 1.427 mbpd in January to 1.322 mbpd in February.
The decline continued in March, with production dropping to 1.23 mbpd from 1.32 mbpd in February.
Concerns from stakeholders about revenue losses due to the government’s inability to boost production have contributed to this ongoing decline. In response, NNPC has declared a state of emergency for oil production.
“We have decided to stop the debate. We have declared war on the challenges affecting our crude oil production. War means war.
We have the right tools. We know what to fight. We know what we have to do at the level of assets. We have engaged our partners, and we will work together to improve the situation,” stated the head of NNPC.
