Nigeria’s 110,000 Bpd Additional Oil Production Boosts OPEC Crude Output in September

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

Oil output by the  Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) rose for a second straight month in September, a Reuters survey found yesterday, led by increases in Nigeria and Iran.

This was despite ongoing cuts by Saudi Arabia and other members of the wider OPEC+ alliance to support the market.

Even with the rise in volume of drilling, Nigeria is still far behind in terms of meeting the OPEC’s quota of 1.742 million barrels per day. Last month the country managed to produce 1.18 million barrels per day, according to self-reported figures.

Nigeria has blamed massive oil theft for its inability to ramp up production. The shortages started since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and had recently got worse.

Last month, OPEC pumped 27.73 million barrels per day, the survey found, up 120,000 bpd from August. Production in August had risen for the first time since February.

The rise in September was led by Nigeria, which has been battling with crude theft and insecurity in its oil-producing region, Reuters said.

Iran, which has been boosting supply despite the United States sanctions, also pumped more, with output hitting the highest level since 2018.

Nigeria managed a sizeable boost in exports in September without any major disruption to shipments, according to shipping data and sources in the survey, increasing output by 110,000 bpd. The country is targeting a further recovery by next year.

In Nigeria, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), which has the mandate to release the country’s production on a monthly basis is yet to do so.

But Reuters stated that the second-largest increase came from Iran, the survey found, which pushed output to 3.15 million bpd. This is the highest since 2018, the year Washington re-imposed sanctions on Iran, according to Reuters surveys and separate figures from OPEC.

Analysts have said the higher Iranian exports appear to be the result of Iran’s success in evading US sanctions and Washington’s discretion in enforcing them as the two countries seek better relations.

Output from the 10 OPEC members that are subject to OPEC+ supply cut agreements rose by 80,000 bpd, the survey found. Saudi Arabia and other Gulf members maintained strong compliance with agreed cutbacks and extra voluntary reductions.

Top exporter Saudi Arabia kept August and September output close to 9 million bpd, the survey found, as the country extended a voluntary 1 million bpd output cut to provide extra support for the market.

Iraq and the United Arab Emirates increased output slightly, while Angolan supply showed the largest decline in the group of 50,000 bpd due to a drop in exports.

However, OPEC’s output is still undershooting the targeted amount by about 700,000 bpd, mainly because Nigeria and Angola lack the capacity to pump as much as their agreed level.

The Reuters survey aims to track supply to the market. It is based on shipping data provided by external sources, Refinitiv Eikon flows data, information from companies that track flows such as Petro-Logistics and Kpler, and information provided by sources at oil companies, OPEC and consultants.