Nigeria's crude oil production rose to 1.307 million barrels per day in the month of July 2024, a monthly oil market report released yesterday by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has said.
The report showed a marginal increase in the previous month's production which was 1.276m bpd and 1.251m in the month of May.
Our correspondent reports that the above figure was sourced from direct communication with Nigerian officials.
From secondary sources, the report indicated that the oil production rose to 1.386 million barrels per day in the month of July 2024, increasing by 16,000 bpd as against 1.369m bpd and 1.359m in the months of June and May respectively.
Daily Trust reports that Nigeria has continued to struggle with meeting its OPEC quota of 1.5m bpd and the production capacity has hovered around 1.2m to 1.3m barrel per day since 2022 when it reached 1.210m bpd according to OPEC.
This is despite the fact that the 2024 budget was benchmarked around 1.78m bpd; an indication of the widening deficit in the budget.
However, as the report indicated Nigeria still remains the largest producer of crude oil in Africa.
In the log, Saudi Arabia remains the largest producer of crude oil among OPEC members with 9.015m bpd from secondary sources.
The report also acknowledged the market disruption caused by Dangote refinery to the European market, saying, "Upside potential for higher production levels from Nigeria's Dangote refinery coupled with strong flows from the Middle East and new supplies from the Mexican Olmeca refinery are set to exert pressure on NWE gasoil performance in the mid term."
The report added, "In July, gasoline showed the largest monthly increase across the barrel and recovered the ground lost in the previous month. The product's margin rose to a two-month high, averaging $8.48/b. This was up $3.17, m-o-m, but down $4.32, y-o-y.
"The Asian naphtha crack spread continued to trend upward despite modest demand from the region's petrochemical sector. Lower naphtha supplies from Russia and discontinuous output from Nigeria's Dangote refinery supported naphtha crack spreads. The Singapore naphtha crack spread against Dubai averaged minus $8.91/b, which is $1.14 higher, m-o-m, and $8.99 higher, y-o-y."
