Nigeria’s Oil Production Drops 45,000bpd in May – OPEC

Nigeria struggles to ramp up crude oil production in the month of May despite rising oil prices, the latest report from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has shown.

Crude oil production declined by 45,000 barrels per day (bpd) in the month of May, according to OPEC’s Monthly Oil Report for the month.

As a matter of fact, Nigeria’s crude output is deteriorating as a result of a lack of capacity caused by infrastructural deficiencies and other security concerns.

According to OPEC’s latest Monthly Oil Market Report, released on Tuesday, Investors King gathered that the group was unable to raise production as promised for the month of May, and its output actually declined.

OPEC’s crude oil production averaged 28.51 million bpd in May, lower by 176,000 bpd compared to the previous month.

According to OPEC’s secondary sources, the decline is due to lower production in Equatorial Guinea (-2,000 barrels per day), Venezuela (-2,000 barrels per day), Iran (-20,000 barrels per day), Iraq (-21,000 barrels per day), Gabon (-32,000 barrels per day), Nigeria (-45,000 barrels per day), and, most notably, Libya (-186,000 barrels per day).

“Crude oil output increased mainly in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait, while production in Libya, Nigeria, Iraq, Gabon and IR Iran declined,” the 13-member oil cartel said.

Gains in Saudi Arabia, which raised output by 60,000 barrels per day to an average of 10.424 million barrels per day, the UAE, which saw a 31,000 barrels per day increase, and Kuwait, which saw a 27,000 barrels per day increase, largely offset these losses.

The report further stated “the share of OPEC crude oil in total global production decreased by 0.1 percentage points to 28.9 percent in May compared with the previous month.

“Estimates are based on preliminary data from direct communication for non-OPEC supply, OPEC NGLs and non-conventional oil, while estimates for OPEC crude production are based on secondary sources.”