The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has disclosed that Nigeria’s average daily crude oil production fell to 1.25 million barrels per day (bpd) in May.
This data, released in OPEC’s monthly oil market report on Tuesday, was based on direct communication with Nigerian authorities. OPEC gathers crude oil production data from two distinct sources: direct communication from member countries and secondary sources such as energy intelligence platforms.
The reported figure of 1.25 million bpd in May represents a 2.34 percent decline from the 1.28 million bpd recorded in April.
Despite the slump, Nigeria, from records, remains the largest oil producer in Africa, followed by Libya, which produced 901,000 bpd in May. Algeria ranked third with 264,000 bpd.
Interestingly, secondary sources reported a different figure, indicating that Nigeria’s crude production increased by five percent to 1.41 million bpd in May, up from 1.35 million bpd in April.
Both figures, however, fall short of OPEC’s 2024 production quota for Nigeria, set at 1.5 million bpd. The report also noted that while Nigeria, Gabon, and Equatorial Guinea saw increased crude oil output, production decreased in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Libya, and Congo.
