Nigeria’s oil production for the first eight months of this year has fallen short of the 2023 budget benchmark by over 20 million barrels, a significant 15 percent deficit, as indicated by the latest figures released by the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).
Data from the NUPRC reveals that from January to August, the total liquid oil production, which includes condensate oil, amounted to 349.01 million barrels.
The highest production figure was recorded in March, totaling 47.57 million barrels. This output contrasts with the 2023 budget benchmark of 410.67 million barrels, based on a daily rate of 1.69 million barrels.
Compared to last year, oil production was up by 6.66 per cent in the first eight months, with 328.58 million barrels produced over the corresponding period in 2022.
A month-to-month analysis of the data showed that production in January 2023 was 46.86 million barrels, down by 9.8 per cent when compared to 51.95 million barrels produced in January 2022. Production was up by 1.8 percent in February 2023 to 43.45 million barrels, compared to 42.66 million barrels produced in February 2022.
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Similarly, the 47.57 million barrels of oil production in March 2023 was 46.4 per cent higher when compared to 32.49 million barrels in March 2022. In April 2023, production was 37.56 million barrels, a drop of 15.5 per cent when compared to a similar month last year. The 44.33 million barrels produced in May this year were 11.8 per cent higher than the 39.65 million barrels recorded in May last year.
Also, production, 44.98 million, was higher in June 2023 by 12.2 percent compared to 40.09 million barrels recorded in June last year. It fell marginally by 0.7 percent in July 2023 to 40.41 million barrels, compared to 40.73 million barrels recorded in July last year. In August 2023, total oil production was 43.85 million barrels, a rise of 19.9 percent compared to 36.55 million barrels produced in August 2022.
With Nigeria’s oil production quota set by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries at 1.7 million barrels per day and the 2023 budget oil benchmark at 1.69 mbpd, oil theft, pipeline vandalism, and a lack of investment continue to hinder efforts to boost production.