According to reports, the latest data from the Organisation of Petroleum Export Countries (OPEC) crude oil production for January shows that Nigeria averaged around 1.427 million barrels of crude oil daily- far below the 2024 budget target of 1.78 million barrels per day.
The reports say that Nigeria’s crude oil production for January saw an increase of 91,000 barrels when compared to the 1.33 million barrels daily production recorded in December. The figures were obtained from direct communication with operators in the country, OPEC said.
The report further stated that members of the OPEC cartel produced around 26.34 million bpd for January. Although, the figure represents a decline of 350,000 barrels daily when compared with the total production for the previous month.
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However, based on secondary data obtained by the cartel, Nigeria’s average daily crude oil production stood at 1.419 million barrels daily- a drop of around 3000 barrels compared to the 1.422 million barrels recorded in the previous month of December.
Nigeria has suffered a decline in oil production in the past few years. This is a result of the incessant oil theft, divestment by oil majors in onshore fields and lack of investment in the oil industry. The present government of the country had however promised to restore hope in the crude oil production target of 4 million barrels daily by 2030.
The federal government set a benchmark production target of 1.78 million barrels of oil daily to achieve revenue projections in the 2024 budget. Also, the federal government projected the benchmark price of crude oil in the budget at $77.96.
The average price of crude oil for January stood at $80.12 slightly above Nigeria’s benchmark price. Failure to meet the production target will lead to a revenue shortfall, which will serve as a threat to the budget implementation.
