Nigeria has seen a steady rise in crude oil production in the last few months, which is a sign that the country is on the verge of achieving its target.
The Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, had promised to work towards ensuring that the country produces a minimum of four million barrels of crude oil a day.
According to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Nigeria’s crude oil production based on secondary sources increased by 24.8 barrels per day in September.
This, OPEC said in its monthly report released at the weekend, that Nigeria has assisted the oil cartel in recording a rise in its crude oil production in the month under review.
Specifically, the country’s crude oil production increased from 2.006 million barrels per day it recorded in August to 2.030mbpd in September.
The country had earlier recorded 1.982mbpd during the third quarter of 2014.
OPEC disclosed that its crude oil production has risen in September to average 30.47 mbpd, according to secondary sources, up 0.40 mbpd from the previous month.
It noted that production from Nigeria, Libya, Iraq, and Angola increased, while crude oil output in Saudi Arabia fell.
According to secondary sources, OPEC crude oil production, not including Iraq, stood at 27.31 mbpd in September, up 0.27 mbpd over the previous month.
OPEC said its oil production rose by 402,000 barrels a day last month to total 30.47 million barrels a day, citing secondary sources.
It stated: Global oil demand growth in 2014 is anticipated to reach around 1.05 mbpd, unchanged from the previous report. Growth this year has been supported by positive performance of China, Brazil and Saudi Arabia, offsetting lower-than-expected growth in some OECD regions.
“In 2015, world oil demand is forecast to rise by 1.19 mbpd, in line with last month’s forecast.
Demand for OPEC crude in 2014 remains unchanged from the previous report at 29.5 mbpd. In 2015, demand for OPEC crude is seen averaging 29.2 mbpd, in line with the previous expectations”.
Copyright Ships & Ports Ltd. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit given to www.shipsandports.com.ng as the source.