Nigeria has maintained its status as Africa’s largest crude oil producer, with production rising to 1.276 million barrels per day (mbpd) in June 2024, according to the latest data from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
This marks an increase of 25,000 barrels per day from the 1.251 mbpd recorded in May. However, OPEC’s secondary sources reported Nigeria’s daily average crude oil production in June at 1.362 mbpd, a slight decrease of 10,000 barrels compared to May’s figure of 1.372 mbpd.
Despite the variation in data sources, Nigeria continues to lead as Africa’s top crude oil producer, closely followed by Libya, which produced 1.2 million bpd in June.
The average crude oil production of 1.27 mbpd in June indicates that for the first half of 2024, Nigeria has consistently fallen short of its OPEC production quota of 1.5 million barrels per day and its budget target of 1.78 million barrels per day.
The Minister of Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, had earlier projected a 2 million barrels per day crude oil production by next year. However, the country continues to lag behind its production targets.
In response, the Group Executive Officer of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Mele Kyari, recently declared an emergency in the oil and gas sector, signaling a critical need for measures to boost production and meet set targets.
