Drums of oil

Nigeria’s inability to ramp up production to meet the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) output quota cost the country a gross loss of about N6.8 trillion in the first seven months of 2023, THISDAY analysis of available industry data has revealed. While the total oil production shortfall was approximately 113.52 million barrels between January and July, the data showed that the country failed to rake in an estimated $9 billion, at an average oil price of $80 per barrel during the period. As of the time of filing this report, the naira closed to the dollar at N747 at the official window. OPEC’s production allocated to Nigeria during the period was 1.742 million barrels per day. The latest data on Nigeria’s total production volume from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), showed that Nigeria’s output fell to a three-month low in July. On Sunday, THISDAY exclusively reported that the country’s crude production shrank to 1.081 million barrels per day in July, from 1.25 million barrels per day in June, on the back of persisting crude oil theft and a leak at the Forcados terminal in the Niger Delta during the month.

THISDAY