The federal government has projected oil production to hit 1.6 million barrels of oil per day in 2023.
Finance minister, Zainab Ahmed said on Thursday that efforts are being made to actualise the target by the first quarter of next year.
Oil production hit 1.185 million (bpd) in November, after output fell to less than 1 million in August, the lowest in years, due to increased crude oil theft and vandalism of pipelines, forcing some companies to curtail or stop production.
Oil production stood at 1.014 million barrels in October.
LEADERSHIP reports that Goldman Sachs predicts that production issues will ease in Nigeria and Kazakhstan by next year.
Goldman Sachs also slashed its oil price forecasts for 2023, saying, it sees a market surplus early next year easing risks of winter price spikes.
The Wall Street bank, in a note dated Tuesday, cut its Brent oil forecasts for the first and second quarter of 2023 to $90 and $95 a barrel from $115 and $105 per barrel respectively.
The bank said, there was less risk of oil prices spiking this winter with China consuming less than previously expected, Russia exporting near pre-war levels, and production issues easing in Nigeria and Kazakhstan.
Goldman expects the oil market to end the current quarter with a surplus of 1.6 million barrels per day(bpd), while seasonally lower demand would leave the first quarter next year with a surplus of 1.3 million bpd.
It forecasts global demand will grow by 2 million bpd in 2023, as China reopens and international travel recovers.
For 2023, Goldman said it sees Brent oil averaging $98 per barrel and WTI at $92 a barrel, down from its earlier forecasts of $110 for Brent and $105 a barrel for WTI.
For the final two quarters of next year, Goldman said, it expects Brent to rise to $100-$105 a barrel, still lower than its previous forecasts of $110 per barrel. It added that, it expects prices to rise in 2024, with Brent averaging $105 per barrel and WTI $99 a barrel.
So far this quarter, Brent crude prices are down nearly 6 per cent.They have fallen more than 40 per cent from a March peak of $139 a barrel.
“Despite the recent price declines, commodities will still likely finish the year as the best performing asset class in 2022,” Goldman said in a separate research note on Wednesday, seeing S&P GSCI TR returns of about 23 per cent this year and 43 per cent in 2023.
