Nigeria’s crude oil production dropped to 1.354m bpd in March –OPEC

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said that Nigeria‘s crude oil production fell to an average of 1.354 million barrels per day in March.

OPEC disclosed this in its April Oil Market Report which was obtained by the Nigerian Agency ( ) in Lagos on Tuesday.

The report said the figure showed a decrease of 24,000 barrels per day compared to the 1.378 million bpd produced on average in the month of February.

“According to secondary sources, total OPEC-13 crude oil production averaged 28.56 million bpd in March, higher than month-on-month.

“Crude oil production increased mainly in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, while production decreased in Libya, Nigeria and the Congo,” it said.

The report noted that after contracting 1.8% year-on-year in 2020, Nigeria’s economy expanded by 3.6% in 2021.

He said this economic recovery was more likely to continue over the course of 2022 supported by improvements in the hydrocarbon sector and energy prices.

The report said: “Recent official data suggested that the annual inflation rate increased slightly to 15.7% in February 2022 from 15.6% in January, although food inflation remained elevated.

“In fact, higher food costs related to geopolitical tensions could push inflation further.

“In March, the general trade improvement softened as suggested by the Stanbic IBTC Bank Nigeria Purchasing Managers’ Index; in fact, it fell to 54.1 from 57.3 in February.

“However, the overall outlook for Nigeria’s near-term economic outlook remains positive, despite concerns about inflationary pressures amid disruptions to global trade flows and supply shortages.” (NAN)