Nigeria’s cost of producing crude oil has risen to about $40 per barrel, a report by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission has said.
This is 300 per cent higher than the cost of producing the same crude in Saudi Arabia, which is $10 per barrel.
According to the NUPRC, rising production costs, coupled with volatile global oil prices, have made it increasingly difficult for Nigeria to remain competitive on the global stage.
“At an average of $25 and $40 production costs per barrel, the nation’s upstream oil production costs are among the highest in the world.
“This range is significantly higher than production costs in top oil-producing countries like Saudi Arabia, where efficient operations allow for costs as low as $10 per barrel,” the NUPRC said in a publication.
The commission worried that this discrepancy affects Nigeria’s ability to attract good investment and compete on a global scale, as high production costs can limit profitability for investors, particularly when global oil prices are low.
