Nigeria falls to number seven in Opec as crude output plummets as a result of theft and vandalism

NIGERIA has now fallen to seventh place in the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries' (Opec) crude oil production list as a result of incessant falls in output brought about by a combination of theft and poor infrastructure maintenance.

According to Opec's Monthly Oil Market Report for November, Nigeria’s output was a mere 1.014m barrels per day in October, ranking seventh after Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Iraq, Angola and Algeria. Historically, Nigeria has had an Opec quota of 2.5m barrels a day and during the Goodluck era, output even climbed to 2.7m barrels a day.

However, a combination of oil theft and dilapidating infrastructure gas led to output collapsing. During October, Angola produced 1. 05m barrels,  Algeria 1.06m barrels,  Kuwait 2.81m barrels, UAE, 3.18m barrels, Iraq 4.651m barrels and Saudi Arabia 10. 957m barrels a day.

Venezuela’s production was 711,000 barrels a day, while that of Equatorial Guinea was 570,00 barrels a day, while the likes of Gabon, Libya and Iran did not issue any production figures for the month. Historically, Nigeria used to rank fifth in Opec, with countries such as Angola and Algeria behind it in terms of crude oil production.

Nigeria, West Africa’s largest economy, has been through a rough path as its crude oil production is bedevilled by theft and pipeline vandalism. A recent report revealed how the country lost N415bn to the shutdown of nine crude oil terminals within the space of two months, as Forcados, Qua Ibo, Bonny, Bonga, Voho, Erha, Brass, Ukpokiti and Aje, were shut down between May and June 2022.