Fakoyejo Olalekan
Nigeria earned at least $104.58 million daily from crude oil in February 2023, as Africa’s largest oil producer pumped 1.3 million barrels per day.
The 1.3 million barrels produced daily last month is the highest crude oil produced by the country in 13 months, indicating a drop in oil theft that threatened to cripple the nation’s oil revenue.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelNigeria had lost its position as the largest crude oil producer in Africa to Angola in 2022, a period it struggled to curb oil theft.
In September 2022, oil theft and vandalism pushed Nigeria down to fourth position on the top five list of Africa’s largest oil producers, as the country pumped 937,766 barrels per day.
Last year, Nigeria produced 1.3 million barrels per day in January 2022, but it closed 2022 with 1.23 million barrels per day in December.
This year, the country reported that it recorded an output of 1.26 million barrels per day in January, but the production volume increased by 48,154 barrels per day when compared to the 1.3 million barrels per day reported for the month of February.
Prime Business Africa learnt this via the latest oil production report released by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) on Thursday.
Although, according to the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Mele Kyari, in February, he disclosed that Nigeria was able to pump above 1.6 million barrels per day on February 16.
He stated further that Nigeria could cross the 1.8 million barrels per day mark in the second quarter of 2023, and that will once again attract investors to Nigeria’s oil industry, leading to growth within the sector.
“I know that it is not far away, probably two to three months maximum, but we will be there, and that will bring back partners to invest, return the confidence of our investors, and ultimately bring back growth,” Kyari said.
