Nigeria maintained its recent run of compliance with its Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) production quota in July, recording combined crude oil and condensate output of 1.67 million barrels per day.
Figures released by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) showed that the country produced an average of 1.505 million barrels of crude oil per day during the month, alongside 0.17 million barrels per day of condensates.
The July performance represented the third consecutive month in which Nigeria met or exceeded its OPEC crude production allocation of 1.5 million barrels per day, reinforcing signs of a sustained recovery in the country’s oil output.
However, the latest figures also revealed a month-on-month decline of about four per cent.
The NUPRC attributed the reduction largely to operational difficulties at the Erha and Akpo oil fields, which affected production during the month.
The regulator said disruptions at the two assets placed pressure on national output, although production from most other fields remained relatively stable.
Operators, it added, implemented measures to sustain efficiency and limit the effects of the operational challenges.
Despite the setback, daily production remained within a relatively strong range.
Combined crude and condensate output peaked at 1.78 million barrels per day during July, while the lowest recorded daily output stood at 1.57 million barrels.
Nigeria’s July figures followed an especially strong showing in June, when the country’s crude and condensate production averaged 1,735,398 barrels per day.
In June alone, crude oil production averaged 1.56 million barrels per day, while condensate output stood at 0.18 million barrels per day.
The crude figure represented 104 per cent of Nigeria’s 1.5 million barrels-per-day OPEC quota.
More significantly, the June crude production level was the highest monthly average recorded by Nigeria since April 2020, marking a 74-month high for the country’s oil sector.
The June performance also represented the fourth consecutive month of production growth before the slight decline recorded in July.
The latest data point to a notable improvement in Nigeria’s ability to sustain crude production around or above its OPEC allocation after years of output shortfalls caused by operational disruptions, crude theft and other challenges.
While July’s decline highlighted the vulnerability of production to problems at individual fields, the continued compliance with the OPEC quota offers a positive signal for government revenue and the broader economy, which remains heavily dependent on petroleum exports.
The NUPRC’s latest figures would therefore be closely watched as Nigeria seeks to maintain production momentum, resolve operational constraints and maximise output from its producing assets.
