Drums of oil

The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has confirmed that Nigeria’s oil production increased to 1.18 million barrels per day (bpd) in August 2023 – up from 1.08 million barrels in July. In its monthly oil market report released yesterday, the oil cartel said Nigeria fell behind Libya on the list of Africa’s largest crude oil producers. OPEC said the country’s output performance was based on direct communication covering last month. Although the 100,000 barrels increase pushed Nigeria up from its previous third place to the second position and was not enough to displace Libya, it, however, closed the gap between the West African country and the North African nation. Data released by the organisation showed that Libya increased its crude oil level from 1.17 million bpd to 1.92 million bpd to retain the number one spot. Others on the top five list are Angola, Algeria, and Congo – retaining the third, fourth, and fifth positions. The three countries reported a decline in their crude oil output in August, according to OPEC. Angola produced 1.12 million bpd in the review month, recording a decrease in its output when compared with July’s production figure of 1.14 million bdp.