Nigeria’s oil production including condensates declined by about 70,000 b/d to 2.09 million b/d in October, compared to the preceding month, according to estimates released Friday by the country’s oil ministry.
The drop comes after a recent upsurge in sabotage attacks on production facilities by oil thieves reported by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. NNPC on November 4 alerted that sabotage attacks on its oil pipelines are on the increase, and could potentially hurt oil production and petroleum products supply by Nigeria. Industry officials and analysts have also expressed concern over a possible upsurge in violence in Nigeria’s oil sector ahead of the country’s general elections next February.
Output averaged 2,091,776 b/d in October compared with 2.16 million b/d in September, according to the ministry. The government is hoping to see average oil output of 2.3 million b/d this year in order to fund its budget.
Nigerian oil minister Emmanuel Kachikwu told S&P Global Platts on Wednesday that the country’s oil output was just below 2 million b/d with crude accounting for around 1.6 million b/d and condensate comprising some 400,000 b/d.
Nigerian output has been steady at around 1.6 million-2 million b/d over the past two years, although still below its full capacity of 2.2 million b/d.
In 2016 output slumped to around-30-year lows of around 1.1 million b/d due to attacks on its key oil infrastructure in the oil-rich Niger Delta. Platst.com
Pix: NNPC headquarters Abuja
