Nigeria exceeded its Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries quota for the third consecutive month in July, despite a four per cent month-on-month decline in crude oil production, according to the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission.
The latest production data released by the NUPRC on Wednesday showed that Nigeria produced an average of 1.505 million barrels per day of crude oil in July, slightly above its OPEC quota of 1.5 million barrels per day.
Including condensate production of 170,000 barrels per day, the country’s total crude oil and condensate output averaged 1.67 million barrels per day during the month.
Nigeria’s oil production declined by about 65,000 barrels per day in July to 1.505 million barrels per day, down from 1.735 million barrels per day recorded in June, representing a 3.75 per cent month-on-month decline.
In a statement signed by its Head of Media and Corporate Communications, Eniola Akinkuotu, the NUPRC said Nigeria produced 1.505 million barrels per day of crude oil and 170,000 barrels per day of condensate in July, bringing total daily production to 1.67 million barrels.
The commission added, “Although Nigeria met its OPEC quota in the month of July, the statistics show that on a month-on-month basis, production fell by 4 per cent.”
The July decline marked the first monthly drop in combined crude oil and condensate production after output rose steadily from January through June.
Production increased from 1.459 million barrels per day in January to 1.483 million barrels per day in February, 1.564 million barrels per day in March, 1.663 million barrels per day in April, 1.701 million barrels per day in May and 1.735 million barrels per day in June.
The NUPRC attributed the July decline mainly to operational challenges at the Erha and Akpo fields, which disrupted production during the period under review.
“These disruptions constrained production volumes and contributed significantly to the overall reduction in national crude oil output,” the commission said.
Despite the setbacks, the NUPRC said production activities across other producing assets remained relatively stable, with operators implementing measures to sustain efficiency and minimise the impact of operational constraints.
The regulator said daily combined crude oil and condensate production peaked at 1.78 million barrels per day in July, while the lowest output was 1.57 million barrels per day.
Forcados Terminal recorded the highest average production during the month at 322.34 thousand barrels per day, followed by Bonny Terminal with 303.72 thousand barrels per day.
Qua Iboe Terminal recorded an average output of 158.02 thousand barrels per day, while Escravos Oil Terminal produced 131.41 thousand barrels per day. Bonga ranked fifth with an average crude oil production of 100.23 thousand barrels per day.
The commission said routine production and crude evacuation activities were largely sustained across the sector during the month. It added that stakeholders were working to resolve the operational challenges, restore affected production capacity and improve the reliability of oil assets.
“Industry stakeholders remain focused on addressing the identified operational issues, restoring affected production capacity and strengthening asset reliability to support improved performance in subsequent months,” the NUPRC said.
The regulator added that the July performance highlighted the importance of proactive asset management, operational resilience and timely intervention in minimising production disruptions.
