Nigeria has taken back its position as the largest oil producer in Africa, as the country produced 1.186 million barrels per day (bpd) in November, according to the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
In May, Nigeria lost its status as the continent’s top oil producer to Angola, as its output dipped in May.
A review of OPEC’s monthly market reports shows that Angola produced more crude oil than Nigeria for straight six months, based on direct communication.
The latest monthly oil market report released by OPEC on Tuesday shows that Nigeria’s oil output increased by 171,000 bpd, based on direct communication.
Experts who spoke to BusinessDay placed the increase in oil production on the measures to curb oil theft by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited and the return of the Forcados pipeline.
Last week, Bala Wunti, chief investment officer, NNPC said the return of the Forcados and partial restoration of the Trans Niger Pipeline (TNP) increased the country’s oil production to 1.6 million bpd as of December.
Wunti said the country ramped up production by collaborating with security agencies, regulators, oil-producing communities and other stakeholders to curb oil theft.
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The report for November revealed that Angola’s oil production stood at 1.088 million bpd, while Algeria pumped 1.021 million bpd, based on direct communication.
OPEC uses secondary sources to monitor its oil output, but also publishes a table of figures submitted by its member countries.
The 13-member oil cartel also revealed in the report that Saudi Arabia lost 489,000 bpd last month; the highest loss among its OPEC peers.
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) in its monthly oil production status report states that Nigeria pumped 1.18 million bpd last month, the highest recorded since May this year.
Data from the upstream regulatory body shows that the country’s oil output increased by 26 percent from 937,766 bpd in September.
According to secondary sources, total OPEC-13 crude oil production averaged 28.83 million bpd in November, lower by 744,000 bpd month-on-month.
“Crude oil output increased mainly in Nigeria and Angola, while production in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait and Iraq declined,” OPEC said.
Preliminary data indicate that global liquids production in November increased by 43,000 bpd to an average of 101.5 million bpd compared with the previous month.
“Non-OPEC liquids production (including OPEC NGLs) is estimated to have increased m-o-m in November by 0.8 million bpd to average 72.7 million bpd. This was higher by 2.1 million bpd year-on-year,” the 13-member oil cartel said.
“The share of OPEC crude oil in total global production decreased by 0.7 percentage points to 28.4 percent in November, compared with the previous month.”
According to OPEC, estimates are based on preliminary data for non-OPEC supply, OPEC NGLs and non-conventional oil, while assessments for OPEC crude production are based on secondary sources.
