Nigeria’s Average Oil Production Falls by 14.69% in Q2 2023

The Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has released its highly anticipated 2023 second-quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP) report, revealing a significant decline in Nigeria’s oil production.

According to the report, Nigeria’s average daily oil production dropped by 14.69 percent year-on-year (YoY) to 1.22 million barrels per day (mb/d) in the second quarter of 2023. This marks a notable decrease from the 1.43 mb/d recorded during the corresponding period in 2022.

The NBS’s report stated that “The nation, in the second quarter of 2023, recorded an average daily oil production of 1.22 million barrels per day (mbpd), lower than the daily average production of 1.43 mbpd recorded in the same quarter of 2022 by 0.22 mbpd and lower than the first quarter of 2023 production volume of 1.51 mbpd by 0.29 mbpd.”

The oil sector‘s real growth was reported to be -13.43 percent YoY in Q2 2023, indicating a decrease of 1.66 percent points compared to the rate recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2022 (-11.77 percent).

Also, this represents a sharp decline of 9.22 percent points when compared to the growth rate in Q1 2023, which stood at -4.21 percent.

On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the oil sector recorded a growth rate of -14.12 percent in Q2 2023.

In terms of its contribution to the overall real GDP, the oil sector made up 5.34 percent in Q2 2023. This percentage is down from the figures recorded during the same period in 2022 and the preceding quarter, where it contributed 6.33 percent and 6.21 percent, respectively.

Regarding the mining sector, the report notes that it encompasses Crude Petroleum and Natural Gas, Coal Mining, Metal Ore, Quarrying, and other Minerals sub-activities.

In Q2 2023, this sector experienced a nominal decline of -7.11 percent YoY. Metal Ores exhibited the highest growth rate among the sub-activities at 186.40 percent, followed by quarrying and other minerals activities at 60.83 percent.

However, Crude Petroleum and Natural Gas remained the primary contributors to the sector, accounting for 85.80 percent in Q2 2023. When comparing the growth rate in Q2 2023 to Q2 2022 and Q1 2023, there was a noticeable decline of 56.86 percent points and a fall of 3.59 percent points, respectively.

The Mining & Quarrying sector contributed 6.58 percent to the overall GDP in the second quarter of 2023. This is a decrease compared to the contributions recorded in the second quarter of 2022 at 8.20 percent and the previous quarter at 6.73 percent.

In real terms, the Mining and Quarrying sector contracted by -12.16 percent YoY in the second quarter of 2023.

In comparison to the same quarter of 2022 and the first quarter of 2023, it was lower by 1.07 percent points and lower by 8.20 percent points, respectively. Quarter-on-quarter, the growth rate recorded was -11.11 percent during the quarter.

The contribution of Mining and Quarrying to Real GDP in the quarter under review stood at 5.58 percent, lower than the rate of 6.51 percent recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2022 and lower than the 6.26 percent recorded in the first quarter of 2023.

These statistics underscore the challenges faced by Nigeria’s oil and mining sectors in the second quarter of 2023, raising important economic concerns for the nation.