Nigeria regains top spot as Africa’s largest crude oil producer in May 2023

Nigeria regained its position as the top crude oil producer in Africa in May 2023, producing 1.184 million barrels per day. This was an increase from April 2023, when Nigeria produced 999,000 barrels per day.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) reported that Nigeria’s crude oil production increased by 185,000 barrels per day in May 2023. This was due to a number of factors, including increased investment in the oil sector and improved security in the Niger Delta region.

Nigeria’s economic growth is still slow, expanding by only 2.4% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2023. This is due to a decline in crude oil output, as well as other challenges such as high inflation, import restrictions, and subdued business activity and consumer spending.

The Nigerian government is taking steps to address these challenges, such as implementing reforms to improve the business environment and investing in infrastructure. These reforms are expected to help Nigeria’s economy grow in the long term.

Inflation data for April 2023 showed an annual rate of 22.2%, indicating an ongoing acceleration compared to 22% in March 2023. These factors, along with a slowdown in the services, manufacturing, and farming industries, contribute to the economic burden faced by Nigeria.

Data from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC)

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has released data showing that Nigeria produced 1.4 million barrels per day of crude oil in May 2023. This is an increase from the 1.184 million barrels per day produced in April 2023.

The data shows that the majority of Nigeria’s crude oil production came from onshore fields, with 839,000 barrels per day produced from these fields. Offshore fields produced 588,616 barrels per day, and deepwater fields produced 100,000 barrels per day. The data is broken down as follows:

• Crude oil: 1,183,691 barrels per day
• Blended condensates: 65,887 barrels per day
• Unblended condensates: 178,038 barrels per day.

What you should know

Nigeria has a new president and his administration plans to shake up the country’s oil and gas sectors and partner with the private sector on a large scale to increase Nigeria’s oil and gas output. According to a May 2023 policy document on the country’s energy industry, the administration also intends to connect the oil and gas industry to other sectors of the economy for growth purposes.

These sectors include:

• Agriculture and fertilizers
• Construction and manufacturing
• Local content expansion
• Human capital development
• Research and Development
• Refining and Petrochemicals
• Power generation

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