Nigeria’s Oil, Condensate Output Rise 30m Barrels Y-o-Y Amid Anti-crude Theft Fight 

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja 

Compared to 2023, Nigeria’s total crude oil and condensate production rose by 30 million barrels in 2024, about 5.6 per higher than the previous year’s cumulative liquids output.

Data from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) also showed that in the two years under review, Nigeria recorded the highest volume of both liquids in December 2024. In total, oil and condensate output last December was 51.794 million barrels.

In all, the country posted circa 566.794 million barrels of crude oil and condensate production in 2024 as against 536.752 million barrels recorded in 2023, meaning that Nigeria, Africa’s biggest oil producer may have finally turned the corner in its prolonged quest to boost its crude production.

However, despite the country’s vow to raise total production to 2 million barrels per day at the end of 2024, a THISDAY review of the NUPRC data showed that Nigeria’s total average liquids volume only hit 1.667 million barrels per day last month.

Speaking recently on the federal government’s plan to raise crude production to 2 million bpd by the end of 2024, the Minister of Finance And Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, said that this is because aside from the general improvement in security in the Niger Delta, the oil sector’s fiscal incentives had also been enhanced.

“The target is 2 million barrels a day. In 2015 or so, we were at 2.3 million barrels a day. So, it’s a very reachable target, which the whole ecosystem, the government, the oil sector, are committed to,” he said.

But in December, the NUPRC figures showed that the country’s peak oil and condensate production in any day within the month was 1.79 million bpd, while the lowest was 1.57 million bpd. In all, this averaged 1,667,560 barrels per day production. It comprised both crude oil, which was 1,484,585 bpd during the month and condensate output of 182,975 bpd during the period.

Nigeria has consistently blamed its inability to raise crude oil production on massive oil theft in the Niger Delta, waning investment in the sector, outright sabotage  as well as deteriorating infrastructure.

But of recent, the country has taken the fight to the oil assets vandals and crude oil thieves in the Niger Delta, revamping the capabilities of the military and recruiting erstwhile local warlords in the region to oversee the security of the oil assets.

A breakdown of the data showed that in 2023, Nigeria’s crude and condensate production was: 46.867 million barrels in January; 43.452 million barrels in February; 47.574 million barrels in March; 37.563 million barrels in April; 44.334 million barrels in May and 44.982 million in June.

Still in 2023, in July, the country produced 40.406 million barrels of liquids; it was 43.854 million barrels in August; 47.169 million barrels in September; 48,424 million barrels in October; 43.985 million barrels in November and 48.138 million barrels in December of that year.

On the other hand, in 2024, crude oil and condensate production rose to 50.953 million barrels in January; fell to 44.648 million barrels in February; 44.581 million barrels in March; 43.423 million barrels in April; 45.525 million barrels in May and 45 million barrels in June.

Besides, in July, combined production (crude and condensate) was 47.544 million barrels; 48.691 million barrels in August; 46.328 million barrels in September; 47.681 million barrels in October; 50.714 million barrels in November and 51.694 million barrels in December, to round off the year 2024 output on a high note.

It also showed that in December, there was an increase in production of oil and condensate from key terminals, with production rising from 7.55 million barrels in November to 7.78 million barrels from the Bonny terminal. 

Output from Brass terminal also jumped from 954,638 million barrels in December to 1.085 million, while oil and condensate production rose from 8.44 million barrels to 8.49 million barrels in the same month.

However, throughout the year, there was no crude and condensate production from Aje terminal as well as Asaramatoru, while there was no condensate output from the Tulja-Okwuibome terminal throughout the year. No reason was given for the lack of activities at the terminals.