Finding buyers for its crude oil may pose a challenge for Nigeria, with approximately 30 out of 53 loaded cargoes stranded. This is coming despite the low production currently being experienced in the country, as Angola has overtaken Nigeria as the leading crude oil producer, and Bloomberg data showed that the unsold cargoes could be above 30 million barrels.
While Nigeria’s grade of crude is one of the best in the world, refinery maintenance and serious competition are reportedly frustrating the market for Nigeria.
While Nigeria is struggling to sell, Angola is making headway with the majority of its cargo heading to India. While India was Nigeria’s biggest crude oil buyer, the National Bureau of Statistics last year showed that the Netherlands bought Nigerian crude oil worth N2.5 trillion in the first nine months of 2023, while India’s imports from Africa’s top producer were valued at N1.6 trillion.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Petroleum Resources (oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, has said raising the country’s dismal oil production to the 2024 budget benchmark of 1.78 million barrels per day is realistic.
Reacting to the declining oil production in March, Lokpobiri said measures were being taken to address the situation and restore production to previous levels.
He said the prevailing production shortfall was primarily due to issues encountered on the Trans Niger Pipeline, coupled with maintenance activities carried out by Shell.
However, I am pleased to announce that these issues have been promptly addressed, and production is expected to return to its previous levels in the coming days. We anticipate that Nigeria’s oil production, including condensate, which was approximately 1.7 million barrels per day (bpd) prior to these developments, will soon be restored.
Furthermore, the Minister of Petroleum Resources is actively engaged in policy evolution aimed at maximising the utilisation of all wells available in Nigeria. This revenue will stabilise our foreign exchange reserves.
In a statement signed by his special assistant, Nneamaka Okafor, Lokpobiri emphasized that the increased revenue will enable the government to fulfill its commitments to providing essential infrastructure as outlined in the budget.
