Nigeria’s daily crude oil production falls to 937,766 bpd in September

Nigeria continued its dismal crude oil production output for the year due to theft as September production averaged 937,766 barrels per day (bpd).

This is compared to 972,394 bpd for the month of August, which was below Angola’s average daily output of 1.17 million barrels, and saw Nigeria lose its title as Africa’s largest oil producer.

This was disclosed in the September Crude Oil production report by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission.

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission report cited that Nigeria’s monthly average was 937,766 bpd compared to 972,394 in August and 1,03,899 in July.

The Nigerian Government has noted the role crude oil theft has contributed to Nigeria’s poor performance despite high prices.

Mele Kyari stated in an interview this week that oil production dropped to less than 1.2 million bpd; local importers have been asked to accept payment delays of at least 90 days.

He also stated that he is confident that a rebound in Nigeria’s crude production will allow the company to cover its deferred payment obligations and expect Nigeria to add 500,000 barrels a day to its output by the end of November, mainly by restarting activities on the Forcados export terminal and Trans-Niger pipeline.

The  Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) disclosed that in its effort to fight rising crude oil theft, which has seen Nigeria’s average crude production fall to under 1 million barrels a day in August.

The NNPC has so far shut down the operations of 395 illegal refineries, including discoveries of an illegal connection of four kilometers route into the sea running from its major Forcados line, which he estimates has been around for nine years.