By Emmanuel Nduka
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) have increased Nigeria’s oil quota to 1.830 million barrels per day in September 2022, from 1.826 million barrels per day in August 2022.
According to OPEC, this was part of actions, targeted at achieving increased stability in the global oil market.
Consequently, prices of many crudes, including Nigeria’s Bonny Light, bounced back to over $100 per barrel in the global market.
It was, however, doubtful if Nigeria, currently producing about 1.4 million barrels per day, including condensate, would meet its target because of increased pipeline vandalism, oil theft and illegal refining in the Niger Delta region.
Last week, a report showed that Nigeria’s oil revenue underperformed due to significant shortfalls such as shut-ins resulting from pipeline vandalism and crude oil theft.
The Trans-Niger Pipeline, a major pipeline capable of transporting about 180,000 barrels of crude per da, was said to have stopped transporting the product since mid-June due to theft.
Despite the development, the pipeline has not been formally shut, Bloomberg reported last Wednesday, quoting a source familiar with details of the pipeline operations.
The report added that the pipeline capacity is about 15 percent of Nigeria’s most recent average daily output.
