Nigeria reclaims top position as Africa’s biggest oil producer

Nigeria has reclaimed the top position as Africa’s biggest producer as average daily crude oil production rose to 1.28 million barrels per day (bpd) in April, the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has disclosed.

According to the cartel, the production data was based on direct communication with Nigerian authorities.

OPEC receives data on crude oil production from two sources: direct communication — which is from member countries — and secondary communication, such as energy intelligence platforms.

According to OPEC in its latest monthly oil market report released on Tuesday, the current output signifies a 4.07 percent increase from the 1.23 million bpd recorded in March — also indicating the first month-on-month production growth in the year.

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Consequently, with the current volume of production, the oil-rich country reclaimed its position as the biggest oil producer in Africa, with Algeria taking second position with 907,000 bpd output.

Meanwhile, OPEC’s secondary sources put Nigeria’s crude production at 1.35 million bpd in April — a 3.15 percent fall from the 1.39 million bpd recorded in March.

Also, the global oil cartel said secondary sources disclosed “total OPEC-12 crude oil production averaged 26.58 mb/d in April 2024, 48 tb/d lower, m-o-m”.

“Crude oil output increased mainly in Congo and IR Iran, while production in Nigeria, Iraq and Venezuela decreased,” OPEC said.

“At the same time, total non-OPEC DoC crude oil production averaged 14.44 mb/d in April 2024, 198 tb/d lower, m-o-m. Crude oil output increased mainly in Bahrain, while production in Russia and Kazakhstan decreased.”