Nigeria’s oil output drops to record low

According to the Oil Production Status Report of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, NUPRC, when the oil production data report is compared Month-on-Month, MoM, the oil output further took a dip dive by 23 per cent to 1.3 Mbps in June 2022, from 1.7 Mbps, recording in the preceding month, May 2022.

When this report is measured in terms of the number of barrels lost, it showed a shortfall of 400,000 barrels per day, against the 1.88 Mbps output benchmark in the 2022 budget.

This development comes at a time when crude prices across the world are also falling to their record low as recent reports on the price of crude oil have shown that Nigeria's crude oil price has also taken a dip as it dropped by 5.01 per cent or $4.65 to close at $88.18/barrel.

This figure is the lowest ever witnessed since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a worldwide activity which saw the price of crude crumble across the world.

Brent Crude futures fell $1.35, or 1.5 per cent, to $91.48 a barrel earlier, after slipping three percent in the previous session. The contract hit a session low of $91.35, the lowest since February 18, this year.

Nigeria's low oil output comes amid reports of oil theft, a move which was partially resolved with the FG's decision to award former Niger Delta warlord, Tompolo a contract to oversee the protection of oil facilities in some parts of the region.

This unchecked stealing of crude had led to the recent protest by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria on Wednesday, September 7, 2022, as they threatened a showdown with the Federal Government over the massive oil thefts in the Niger Delta.