Nigeria’s crude oil production fell by 40,000 barrels per day (bpd) in September, further deepening its ongoing struggles to meet its OPEC production quota.
According to a report by Reuters on Thursday, based on a survey of OPEC’s yet-to-be-published September output, this marks another setback in Nigeria’s efforts to boost production.
The report highlights that Nigeria is not alone in facing challenges. Other OPEC members also experienced disruptions, most notably Libya, where civil unrest severely impacted oil supplies.
Libya’s production dropped by 300,000 bpd, contributing significantly to OPEC’s overall output decline for the month.
Since the beginning of 2024, Nigeria’s crude production has remained between 1.2 million and 1.3 million bpd, falling short of both OPEC quotas and local demands, especially as the country looks to supply its struggling refineries. OPEC’s most recent data shows that Nigeria produced 1.35 million bpd as of August.
Overall, OPEC’s total oil output for September dropped to 26.14 million bpd, a 390,000 bpd reduction from August’s revised figures. Libya’s production issues played a major role in this decline, exacerbating global concerns over oil supply amid rising demand and increased non-OPEC production.
Though Libya is expected to rebound as its central bank leadership dispute, which triggered the production cuts, has been resolved, other members, such as Iraq, also faced challenges. Iraq, despite a push to better comply with OPEC limits, was still producing 90,000 bpd above its quota.
Meanwhile, Iran, exempt from OPEC’s output restrictions, saw a slight increase in production, reaching its highest levels since 2018 despite ongoing U.S. sanctions.
Despite the production struggles, OPEC’s overall output remains about 130,000 bpd above the group’s target, with Iraq’s overproduction contributing significantly to the excess.(BusinessDay)
