Nigeria’s daily crude oil and condensate output rose to 1.717 million barrels in September, representing 2.34 per cent month-on-month increase and surpassing the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) quota for the fifth consecutive month this year, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has reported,
The figures represented 102 per cent of the 1.5 million barrels per day production quota assigned to Nigeria by OPEC, indicating that the country exceeded its target by 30,000 barrels per day.
In a statement issued on Tuesday by the commission’s Head of Media and Corporate Communications, Eniola Akinkuotu, indicated that the nation’s crude oil and condensates production peaked at 1.84 million barrels per day on its highest-producing day during the month, while output on the lowest-producing day stood at 1.68 million barrels.
According to the statement, Nigeria produced an average of 1.53 million barrels of crude oil per day in September, excluding condensates.
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The statement partly reads: “Nigeria meets OPEC quota for fifth consecutive month as daily peak hits 1.84 million barrels in September.
“Data from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission also shows that single-day production hit a peak of 1.84 million barrels in the month as Nigeria consolidated its position as Africa’s largest crude oil producer”, the commission added.
The September performance extended Nigeria’s run of meeting its OPEC crude oil production quota to five consecutive months, following average daily output of 1.53 million barrels in May, 1.55 million barrels in June, 1.51 million barrels in July and 1.5 million barrels in August.
The latest figures further reflected that Nigeria had maintained production at or above its OPEC allocation despite persistent challenges that have historically affected the country’s oil industry, including crude oil theft, pipeline vandalism, operational disruptions and difficulties evacuating crude from producing fields.
The commission attributed the improved performance largely to stable production operations across most producing assets and the absence of major pipeline outages during the period.
The NUPRC clarified: “The improved performance was primarily driven by stable production operations across most producing assets and the absence of any major pipeline outages during the period under review. This enhanced operational stability supported improved production uptime and crude evacuation efficiency.
“The sustained growth recorded in September reflects the continued commitment of operators and industry stakeholders towards improving operational efficiency, maintaining asset integrity, and enhancing production reliability across the Nigerian upstream petroleum sector”, it added.
A breakdown of production by terminal and stream showed that Forcados Terminal accounted for an average of 320,320 barrels per day in September, making it the largest contributor among the listed terminals and streams, while Bonny Terminal followed with 303,270 barrels per day.
