Following consistent efforts by the Nigerian government to increase crude oil production and subsequently deepen foreign revenue generation, Nigerian oil production has risen to 1.418 million barrels per day (mbpd), according to the latest report from the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
In the report tagged, Monthly Oil Market Report for January 2024, Nigeria’s crude oil production increased by 100mbpd from 1.319mbpd recorded in November.
Despite the increase, Nigeria’s crude oil production remains below its 2mbpd target.
Last month, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) announced plans to increase crude oil production to two million barrels per day in 2024.
NNPCL said this would significantly boost the 1.67 million barrels of oil and condensates it claimed to be producing at that time, saying it would enable Nigeria to meet the 2mbpd target set by OPEC.
Chairperson of the NNPCL Board, Mr Pius Akinyelure, who made the disclosure, however, admitted that meeting such a target would require overhauling Nigeria’s security architecture to address pipeline vandalism and other mechanisms deployed in oil theft.
“According to secondary sources, total OPEC-12 crude oil production averaged 26.70 mb/d in December 2023, higher by 73 tb/d, month-on-month. Crude oil output increased mainly in Nigeria and Iraq, while production in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and IR Iran decreased,” the report said.
