Nigeria’s crude oil production fell by 6,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 1.17 million barrels per day (mbd) in July 2022, down from 1.18 million bdp in June 2022, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said.

Crude production fell to 752,000 bpd in the second quarter of 2022 from 1.06 million bpd in the first quarter of 2022, the oil group said in its recent monthly oil market report, citing secondary sources. It had produced 1.1 million bpd in Q4 2022.

However, OPEC’s direct communication figures showed that Nigeria had lowered its production by 74,000 bpd to 1.08 mbd last month. Quarter-on-quarter, production was down to 1.13 million bpd from 1.29 million bpd.

The West African nation’s rig count remained unchanged at 11 for the two months. However, the rig count was down four on an annual basis.

In July, Nigeria lost $1 billion in revenue during the first quarter of this year due to crude oil theft, Reuters reported, Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission CEO Gbenga Komolafe.

The country produced 141 million barrels of oil in the first quarter of 2022 and only 132 million barrels of oil were received at export terminals, which indicates that over nine million oil barrels were lost to theft, he stated.

According to secondary sources, total OPEC-13 crude oil production averaged 28.84 million bpd in July 2022, higher by 162,000 bpd month-on-month. Crude oil output increased mainly in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the UAE, while declined in Venezuela, Libya and Angola.

Meanwhile, OPEC lowered its global demand growth forecast for this year to 3.1 million bpd, down by 300,000 bpd from its previous-month estimate, amid expectations of a resurgence of COVID-19 restrictions and ongoing geopolitical uncertainties. 

OPEC predicts a gradual economic recovery in the second half of the year, given that the situation in Eastern Europe won’t worsen and cause further significant spill-over effects on other economies beyond its current negative impact. 

(Editing by Seban Scaria seban.scaria@lseg.com)