By Egbodo Queen
In a recent Monthly Oil Market Report for January 2024, the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) announced that Nigeria’s fossil fuel production accelerated to 1.418 million barrels per day (mbpd) in December 2023, marking a significant increase of 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) from 1.319 mbpd in November.
According to the report released on January 17, OPEC disclosed that Nigeria’s fuel production, as reported by secondary sources, reached 1.335 mbpd in December, compared to 1.250 mbpd in November.
Interestingly, this surge in production contrasted with the reduction in oil output experienced by OPEC member countries such as Algeria, Congo, Iran, Libya, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates during the same period.
The report highlighted that, based on secondary sources, the total fossil fuel production of OPEC-12 averaged 26.70 mbpd in December 2023, representing an increase of 73,000 bpd month-on-month.
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Nigeria and Iraq were the primary contributors to this acceleration, while Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and IR Iran experienced a decline in production.
Despite challenges like cases of oil theft and illegal refining sites in the Niger Delta, Nigeria’s fuel production has risen.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) had previously announced plans to produce two million barrels of fossil fuel per day in 2024, aiming to surpass the 1.67 million barrels of fuel and condensates it claimed to be producing at that time.
This initiative aligns with Nigeria’s commitment to meet the 2mbpd target set by OPEC.
Mr. Pius Akinyelure, the Chairperson of the NNPCL Board, who made the revelation, acknowledged that achieving such a goal would necessitate an overhaul of Nigeria’s security architecture to address challenges such as channel wrecking and other issues contributing to fuel theft.
