Leadership (Abuja)
9 January 2009
Nigeria is expected to export 1.66 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil in February, steady from January and down 12 per cent from December, following OPEC deals to cut output, traders have said.
February exports are mostly unchanged from the anticipated 1.65 million bpd in January and down from 1.88 million bpd in December due to a combination of shipment delays, cancellations and OPEC supply curbs.
The lower shipment schedule versus December from the major African oil exporter adds to signs that members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries are following through on deals to bolster prices.
At a meeting on December 17, OPEC set Nigeria a target to cut production by 320,000 bpd from September 2008 levels starting on January 1, implying a new output limit of 1.67 million bpd, as part of an OPEC accord to remove 2.2 million bpd from world markets.
That came on top of two OPEC agreements since September to lower output by 2 million bpd. State-run Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation had informed customers it would reduce exports following the earlier agreements.
By cutting output, the 12 OPEC members were aiming to build a floor under prices that have dropped by $100 from a July record high above $147 a barrel.
Delays and cancellations as consequences of militant attacks in the Niger Delta, home to Africa's largest oil and gas industry, have reduced output in Nigeria by a fifth in the last three years.
Italian oil and gas group Eni SpA said on Monday that the closure of a pumping station in Nigeria, following a spillage incident had reduced oil production by 12,000 bpd. Eni had declared force majeure on its Brass River oil production in December.
In February, three full cargoes and two smaller shipments of Brass River are expected to be loaded, down by around 50,000 bpd from December.
Nigeria's benchmark, Bonny Light crude oil has already been under force majeure indefinitely due to underproduction caused by sabotage attacks on oil pipelines run by Royal Dutch Shell.
Traders said they expected three cargoes of Bonny Light to be loaded in February, while Nigeria's other benchmark grade Qua Iboe is expected to ship nine cargoes or around 305,000 bpd.
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