VenturesNow

Nigeria’s oil output drops by 13.6% to 1.08 million barrels per day

Published

9 months ago

August 11, 2023

The latest data from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has revealed that the country’s oil production in the month of July 2023 fell by 13.6 percent to an average of 1.08 million barrels per day compared to 1.25mbpd recorded in June.

Oil and gas are extracted in Nigeria from 323 established fields spread across both onshore and offshore terrains. These fields, which either have reserves for crude oil, condensates, or natural gas are linked to 265 production processing plants from which the stabilized oil and gas are transported via 31 export ports.

The amount produced is considerably less than the 1.7 million barrels per day allotment that OPEC assigned the nation. It is also a major setback for the government which has a production target of 1.69 million barrels per day in the 2023 budget.

The data also revealed that in July the daily production of blended and unblended condensate oil was 38,258 barrels and 174,509 barrels, respectively. Nigeria’s OPEC production limit does not include condensate oil production.

A total of 1.29 million barrels of oil were produced on average every day in July, a 12.8 percent decrease from the 1.48 million barrels produced on average every day in June.

Nigeria’s economy largely depends on crude oil, and its revenues and production have been greatly affected by oil theft that has been on the rise.

According to the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), the country lost 619.7 million barrels of crude oil valued at N16.25 trillion ($46.16 billion) to theft between 2009 and 2020.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Limited predicted that oil production would reach 1.8 million barrels per day (mbpd) by the fourth quarter of this year.

Related Topics:Featured Nigeria Oil production OPEC

Click to comment

VenturesNow

Nigerian govt denies reports it plans to borrow pension fund for infrastructure

Published

16 hours ago

May 17, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

The Nigerian government has denied reports that it plans to borrow the N20tn pension fund to finance infrastructural projects.

In a statement made in Abuja, Wale Edun, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, stated that the government would abide by the laws and guidelines in place pertaining to the pension fund.

Following a two-day Federal Executive Council meeting at the Presidential Villa on Tuesday, the minister reportedly informed reporters that the government would present a plan to use local funds, including the fund, to finance infrastructure development.

Edunstated that the government does not intend to exceed these legal boundaries, emphasising that the government was committed to protecting workers’ pensions.

“It has come to my notice that stories are making the round that the Federal Government plans to illegally access the hard-earned savings and pension contributions of workers. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

“The pension industry, like most the financial industries, is highly regulated. There are rules. There are limitations about what pension money can be invested in and what it cannot be invested in.

“The Federal Government has no intention whatsoever to go beyond those limitations and go outside those bounds which are there to safeguard the pensions of workers.

“What was announced to the Federal Executive Council was that there was an ongoing initiative drawing in all the major stakeholders in the long-term saving industry, those that handle funds that are available over a long period to see how, within the regulations and the laws; these funds could be used maximally to drive investment in key growth areas,” Edun clarified.

The plan to spend the pension fund was reported and was widely criticised. The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria and the Nigeria Labour Congress had earlier on Thursday urged the government to abstain from making any changes to the pension fund.

They stated, “Nigerian workers have entrusted their hard-earned savings for retirement security, not as a means for government projects. It is imperative to halt any further plans to tap into these funds, especially given the lack of transparency and accountability in past government borrowing practices.”

VenturesNow

Nigeria’s inflation hits 28-year high of 33.69% in April

Published

2 days ago

May 16, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Nigeria’s consumer inflation reached a 28-year high of 33.69% in April, up from 33.20% in March, according to statistics agency figures released on Wednesday.

President Bola Tinubu’s administration has slashed petrol and energy subsidies and devalued the local naira currency twice.

To manage pricing pressures, the central bank has hiked interest rates twice this year, including the highest hike in almost 17 years. The central bank governor has stated that rates will remain high for as long as necessary to reduce inflation. The bank will host another rate-setting meeting next week.

When compared to the previous year, the inflation rate in April 2024 was 11.47 percentage points more than in April 2023, when it stood at 22.22 percent. This implies that the headline inflation rate has increased dramatically during the last year.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, food and nonalcoholic beverages remained the largest contributor to inflation in April. Food inflation, which accounts for most of the inflation basket, rose to 40.53% yearly from 40.01% in March.

Price pressures have left millions of Nigerians facing the biggest cost-of-living crisis in decades, as they fight to satisfy their most basic necessities.

Tinubu has offered a 35% salary increase for state personnel to alleviate pressure on government workers. To assist disadvantaged households, his government has resumed a direct cash transfer program and provided at least 42,000 tons of grains such as corn and millet.