Just as Nigeria’s crude oil production, including condensate, rose to 2.16 million barrels per day in September to become the highest level so far this year, frustrations are still hobbling sales of over 25 cargoes floating on high seas with buyers apathy.
Though Nigeria’s OPEC quota is within 2.5mbpd, this can be said to the closest since the return of peace to the Niger Delta following series of promises by the federal government on bettering the lives of the host communities.
Build up to the height of production showed that oil production in the country stood at 2.145 million bpd in August, up from 1.968 million bpd in July; 1.896 million bpd in June and 1.826 million in May.
In April, production got to 2.069 million bpd in April, 2.022 million bpd in March, 2.105 in February, and 2.070 million bpd in January, according to the ministry.
Nigerian crude oil has been under pressure from the persistent overhang of unsold cargoes, although this surplus could soon clear, given demand from Turkish and Asian refiners, according to Reuters.
At the last count, there were around 25 Nigerian oil cargoes left for sale from the October and November programmes, marking very little change over the last week.
India was said to have imported 336,500 bpd of Nigerian crude in September, 20.7 per cent more than in August, according to data from industry and shipping sources.
But highlighting the challenge to light, sweet West African crudes from the United States’ oil, Indian imports in September this year were nearly 40 per cent lower than those in September last year.
According to International Energy Agency, both global oil demand and supply are now close to new, historically significant peaks at 100 million bpd and neither shows signs of ceasing to grow any time soon.
The IEA, in a new report weekend, noted that production had surged, led by the US shale revolution, and supported by big increases in Brazil, Canada and elsewhere.
