Nigeria’s oil production crashed by about 14.94 million barrels in the second quarter of 2022, according to data obtained from the latest Monthly Oil Market Report of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) for June 2022.
An analysis of the figures released by OPEC and the average cost of crude in Q2 2022 obtained from global oil price reports indicated that Nigeria’s oil earnings plunged by about N703.76billion, being the worth of the 14. 94 million barrels of crude were lost during the period under review.
Based on direct communication from OPEC’s 13-member states on crude oil production, OPEC said in the first quarter of 2022, Nigeria produced 1.299 million barrels of oil per day. This, however, dropped to 1.133 million barrels per day in the second quarter, indicating a plunge of 166,000 barrels per day.
The implication is that for the estimated 90-day period in Q2 2022, the country could not produce (or lost) about 14.94 million barrels of crude oil. Data obtained from, Statista, the global statistical firm, showed that the average prices of crude in April, May, and June this year were $104.58/barrel, $113.34/barrel and $122.71/barrel, respectively.
This means that the average for the quarter under review is $113.54/barrel. Therefore, by losing 14.94 million barrels in Q2, 2022, Nigeria’s oil earnings plunged by about $1.696billion (N703.96billion at the official exchange rate of N415/$).
Meanwhile, the Federal Government and operators in the oil sector have repeatedly decried the plunge in Nigeria’s oil production, as they often attribute it to acts of vandalism by oil thieves. In his reaction to the concern, the Managing Director (MD), Seplat Energy Plc, Roger Brown, said there was a need for more synergy between the public and the private sectors to address this issue.
The MD, who spoke at the just-concluded 2022 Nigeria Oil and Gas conference in Abuja, explained that Nigeria had abundant crude oil and gas resources, but stressed that this could only translate to value if adequately harnessed. “On the oil side, the theft levels are just unsustainable. We have a crippling economy because of it and that must be solved,” he said. He added, “On the gas side, it’s about fixing the value chain from gas to electricity, from molecules to electrons across the country and getting it right”.
