Report: Nigeria Fails To Meet Production Quota In April

03 May Report: Nigeria Fails To Meet Production Quota In April

Nigeria, Libya and a handful of African countries hobbled projected oil production plan by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in April, failing to meet the quota allocated to them by the oil producers’ group.

Crude oil theft and lack of investment made Nigeria lose on the average between 350,000 to 400,000 barrels per day during the period under review according to the minister of state for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva

He said the country has, however, begun to ramp up its production level and very soon it would meet the 1.75 million barrels per day allocated to it by OPEC.

The country produced 1 .39 million barrels per day as against its April allocation of 1.735 million bpd by OPEC.

A  survey carried out by Reuters for the month showed that the increase in OPEC’s oil output in April undershot the rise planned under a deal with allies, as declines in Libya and Nigeria offset supply increases by Saudi Arabia and other top producers.

OPEC pumped 28.58 million barrels per day (bpd) in April, up 40,000 bpd from the previous month and short of the 254,000 bpd increase called for under the supply deal.

OPEC and its allies, known as OPEC+, are slowly relaxing 2020 output cuts as demand recovers from the pandemic. OPEC+ meets on Thursday and would be expected to confirm a previously agreed output hike despite the surge in oil prices after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The deal called for a 400,000 bpd increase in April from all OPEC+ members, of which about 254,000 bpd is shared by the 10 OPEC producers the agreement covers.

The Reuters survey aims to track supply to the market. It is based on shipping data provided by external sources, Refinitiv Eikon flows data, information from tanker trackers such as Petro-Logistics, as well as information provided by sources at oil companies, OPEC and consultants.

OPEC and allies, known as OPEC+, are unwinding record output cuts made in 2020 yet have been struggling to achieve their planned monthly production increases.

Meanwhile, the OPEC+ alliance may see no need to have to divert from its long-established provide plan when the organisation meets on Thursday.

Delegates said the 23-nation group will possibly ratify one other modest production quota on the back of risk to demand in China from new lockdowns aimed toward combatting the Covid-19 pandemic.

Led by Saudi Arabia, the coalition might have one more reason to rebuff worldwide calls to open the faucets extra rapidly: loyalty to fellow member Moscow, whose political amity has been an asset for Riyadh and others whereas their ties with the US are underneath pressure.

Whereas worldwide crude costs are inflicting discomfort for customers as they hover close to $110 a barrel, the market has pulled again considerably from the highs struck after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The group has been restoring output halted in the course of the pandemic in modest tranches, and is more likely to rubber-stamp an additional 430,000 barrel-a-day increment for June when it meets May 5.