In December 2022, Nigeria recorded its highest oil production since April 2022, the latest Platts survey conducted by S&P Global Commodity Insights revealed.

The country’s oil production has faced oil theft which has hampered exports and led to major oil spills and losses of millions of Naira.

However, the survey released on Wednesday showed that Nigerian volumes rebounded to the highest level since April 2022, producing 1.33 million b/d in December, contributing significantly to the increase in oil production from the OPEC in the period.

OPEC and its allies increased crude oil production by 140,000 b/d as the 13 OPEC countries pumped 28.98 million b/d in December, an increase of 110,000 b/d from November, led by Nigeria , while 10 non-OPEC partners, including Russia, added 13.73 million b/d, an increase of 30,000 b/d.

When combined, the alliance produced 42.71 million b/d in December alone.

The survey further highlighted that Nigeria experienced significant recoveries in its cargoes from the main grades Forcados and Brass River, while maintenance at Bonga Field was completed in mid-November.

However, the report added that despite the overall increase, the alliance’s production is still far behind its production targets, with a gap of 1.80 million b/d in December, adding that most of members face technical or financial difficulties in maintaining production.

In the meantime, Recent data from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission showed that Forcados had a crude oil production rate of 6,579,692, a condensate rate of 593,980 and a combined total of 7,173,672 barrels as of December 2022, compared with a combined total of 6,856,88 registered as of November 2022.

Brass, on the other hand, had a crude oil production rate of 581,198, a condensate rate of 45,010, and a combined total of 626,208 for December 2022, compared to a combined total of 431,672 recorded for November 2022.

However, during a forum on January 11, 2023, Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited group CEO Mele Kyari said the country could achieve crude oil production of 2.2 million barrels per day by 2023. .

He said: “For us, we see a trajectory of restoring production, including condensates, within the year. We think we can hit a target of 2.2 mb/d, but our budget target is 1.8 mb/d, but we know it’s practical to achieve 2.2 mb/d in 2023.”