In October 2023, Nigeria’s crude oil production, including condensate, experienced a year-on-year (YoY) surge of 30%, reaching 1.6 million barrels per day (bpd), compared to the 1.2 million bpd recorded in the same period in 2022.
However, on a month-on-month (MoM) basis, the nation’s oil output slightly declined by 0.7%, settling at 1.562 million bpd in October 2023, down from 1.572 million bpd in September 2023.
Analyzing the production figures, it was noted that Nigeria’s output, including condensate, was at 1.5 million bpd in January 2023, dropped to 1.3 million bpd in April, before reaching 1.6 million bpd in September, marking the highest point in 2023.
Despite this improvement, the crude oil production of 1.6 million bpd remained notably below the 2023 budget benchmark of 1.69 million bpd and the OPEC quota of 1.7 million bpd. An anonymous industry expert expressed skepticism about the Federal Government’s goal of increasing output to two million bpd by the end of the year, citing limited investment and other industry factors.
The Minister of State Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, had previously expressed the government’s commitment to reaching a production level of 2 million bpd by December, addressing challenges hindering exploration and production in the energy sector.
Responding to concerns raised by oil companies regarding the operating environment in the Niger Delta region and divestments by International Oil Companies (IOCs), Minister Lokpobiri assured that the government had the capacity to address existing and potential issues for the betterment of the country’s energy sector.
Similarly, Engr. Emeka Okwuosa, the Managing Director of Oilserve Limited, attributed the consistent attacks on crude oil pipelines in the Niger Delta region to obsolete pipeline systems lacking the latest monitoring technology.
According to him, “most of the problems we have with the crude oil pipeline delivery systems is that when we talk about crude oil theft it is not just about the trunk lines which are the major pipelines that deliver to export terminals, it is about protecting from the wellhead.
“From the wellheads you have the flow lines and those flow lines deliver to collection points. All those are susceptible to attacks. The major problem is that some of these flow lines were built decades ago and they were built not with the technologies we have now. Most of them do not have fibre optic detection systems and so you have to depend on physical protection”, he added.