Nigeria regains position as Africa’s biggest oil producer

…Pushes Libya to second place

Lagos — The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC, says Nigeria’s oil production increased by 185,000 barrels per day, bpd, to 1.184 million bpd in May 2023.

This is according to the latest edition of the OPEC monthly market report, and with development, Nigeria has regained the position of Africa’s largest oil producer, overtaking Libya.

Libya, in the second position in the Africa’s oil production chart, produced 1.158 million bpd while Angola produced 1.111 million bpd to occupy the third position. The fourth-placed Algeria produced 962,000 barrels of oil per day.

Libya overtook Nigeria on the African oil producers’ table as that country’s production hit 1.21 million bpd with Nigeria production falling to 998,602 bpd) in the month.

“According to secondary sources, total OPEC-13 crude oil production averaged 28.06 million barrel per day in May 2023, lower by 464,000 bpd month-on-month.

“Crude oil output increased mainly in Nigeria, Iran, and Angola, while production in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Kuwait declined,” OPEC stated in the monthly report for May.

This came on a day the Nigerian Army took credit for rising oil output in the country, saying the output rise was due to its reinvigorated operations geared towards zero illegal activities.

It said all hands were on deck in sustaining the tempo of the continuous rise in Nigeria’s crude oil production.

The General Officer Commanding, 6 Division, Port Harcourt, Maj. Gen. Jamal Abdussalam, who disclosed this, said the doggedness and unwavering commitment of personnel of the Division in the face of daunting security challenges in the South-South region was impressive.

Abdussalam, speaking at the opening ceremony of the 2023 Six Division Finance Training Week in Port Harcourt on Thursday, explained that training remains the key to unlocking the potentials of military personnel.

He said, “Recently released data from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission indicates that Nigeria’s crude oil output grew by 185,000 barrels per day to hit 1.185 million per day for the month of May.

“This has been possible through our reinvigorated operation geared towards zero illegal activities. In view of this achievements, all hands must be on deck to ensure the output continue to rise.”