Nigeria Tops African Oil Producers As OPEC’s March Output Hit 28.80MBP

Nigeria was Africa’s top crude oil producer in March 2023, with a production capacity of 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd), even as the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries(OPEC)’s total crude oil production averaged 28.80 million barrels a day in March, lower by 86,000 barrels per day month-on-month.

However, the Nigeria has reported the lowest production so far this year, according to the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission(NUPRC).

Nigeria failed to reach its OPEC quota of 1.8 million bpd or its 2023 budget benchmark of 1.6 million bpd due to a lack of investments, security risks and production sabotage.

In its latest monthly oil market report, OPEC said, Nigeria produced 1.268 million bpd in March against 1.306 million bpd in February 2023.

The OPEC said Nigeria had the highest crude production in the month under review, followed by Algeria and Angola, which recorded one million and 972,000 bpd, respectively.