Nigeria’s oil production witnessed a significant decline of 13.6% in the month of July 2023, averaging 1.08 million barrels per day (mbpd), according to recent data released by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).
This figure marks a decrease from the 1.25 mbpd recorded in June.
The July production data poses a challenge for the Nigerian government, which had set a production target of 1.69 mbpd in the 2023 budget. Furthermore, the output falls significantly short of the country’s OPEC quota of 1.7 mbpd.
The NUPRC data also revealed that the daily production of blended and unblended condensate oil for July stood at 38,258 barrels and 174,509 barrels, respectively. However, these condensate oil productions are not part of Nigeria’s OPEC production quota.
Overall, the daily average oil production for July reached 1.29 mbpd, signifying a 12.8% decrease compared to the total average daily production of 1.48 mbpd recorded in June.
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The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Limited had expressed its aspiration to raise oil production to 1.8 mbpd by the fourth quarter of the year.
The Executive Vice President, Upstream, NNPC Ltd, Engr. Adokiye Tombomieye, shared this goal during the Nigeria Oil Gas Energy Week in Abuja. He indicated that the initial target is to reach 1.7 mbpd by the end of the third quarter.
Tombomieye outlined the strategies to achieve these targets, including asset integrity, production ramp-up, well interventions, new drillings, alternative crude oil evacuation, and improved security measures.
He emphasized the potential in the deep-water sector and mentioned that NNPC Limited is collaborating with partners on key projects like the Bonga North field, expected to contribute an additional 120,000 bpd to national production.
In pursuit of these objectives, Tombomieye stressed the importance of creating an investment-friendly environment, noting that the revamped NNPC Limited structure aims to provide a fair platform for investors.