Nigeria’s average daily crude oil production in June 2024 rose marginally to 1.276 million barrels per day (bpd), marking an increase of 25 thousand barrels per day from the 1.251 million bpd recorded in May.
This information is according to the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) monthly oil market report for June 2024, which reflects data communicated directly by Nigerian authorities.
Using secondary sources, Nigeria’s daily average crude oil production for June stood at 1.362 million bpd, which represents a decline of 10 thousand barrels compared to the 1.372 million bpd reported in May.
Despite this decline in secondary source data, Nigeria maintained its position as the largest oil producer in Africa, with Libya trailing closely behind, producing 1.2 million bpd in June.
Globally, Russia overtook Saudi Arabia as the largest oil producer within the OPEC+ cartel, with an average daily production of 9.14 million bpd, while Saudi Arabia produced 8.93 million bpd.
The total crude oil production among OPEC+ members, also known as the Declaration of Cooperation (DoC), stood at 40.81 million bpd, a decline of 125 thousand bpd compared to the previous month. For OPEC members specifically, total crude oil production declined by 80 thousand bpd to 26.57 million bpd, down from 26.65 million bpd in May.
The OPEC Reference Basket (ORB) price declined slightly by 37¢, or 0.4%, month-on-month, averaging $83.22 per barrel in June. The ICE Brent front-month contract remained unchanged at $83.00 per barrel, while the NYMEX WTI front-month contract saw a slight increase of 8¢, or 0.1%, averaging $78.70 per barrel.
Despite the slight increase in production, Nigeria has consistently fallen short of its OPEC production quota of 1.5 million bpd and its budget target of 1.78 million bpd for the first half of 2024. This shortfall hampers the revenue mobilization efforts of President Bola Tinubu’s administration. Minister of Petroleum Resources, Heineken Lokpobiri, had previously stated that the country aims to reach two million bpd by next year, though achieving this goal appears challenging.
The Nigerian oil sector continues to face significant hurdles, including insecurity, low investment, the exit of international oil companies (IOCs), and ongoing issues related to the approval of oil asset transfers. In response to these challenges, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) declared earlier this month that it is intensifying efforts to address the factors impeding crude oil production.
