OPEC Oil Production Rises To Over 120,000 Barrels In December; Authorities Discover Illegal Oil Production In Nigeria

A Recovery in Nigerian Production Boosted OPEC Oil Output by 120,000 Bpd in December Compared to November, According to a Monthly Reuters Survey Published on Wednesday.

Despite an increase in OPEC oil production last month, the figures remain well below the collective target of the ten members bound by the OPEC+ pact. The largest OPEC+ group cut its collective production target by 2 million bpd in November – about 1.27 million bpd, which will come from OPEC members.

See OPEC Oil Production Figures at the End of 2022

The 10 producers with OPEC production quotas combined produced 780,000 bpd below OPEC’s target in December. The shortfall narrowed slightly from the OPEC quota of 800,000 bpd in November.

According to a Reuters survey, OPEC pumped 29 million bpd in December, an increase of 120,000 bpd compared to the previous month, largely due to a recovery in Nigerian production following disruptions.

Recomendado para você

Oil and Gas

Major Oil, Gas, and Energy Event Will Take Place in Brazil: Macaé Energy Will Gather Petrobras, Equinor, Prio, Among Other Suppliers and Energy Executives for Business, Networking, and Employment Opportunities

The Technical Agenda and the Fair in the City of Macaé Should Boost Discussions on Investments, Energy Transition, and Development of the Oil, Gas, and Energy Chain in the National...

Paulo Nogueira

1

Nigeria, however, is the biggest laggard in terms of OPEC+ production quotas, along with other African OPEC members such as Angola. Earlier this week, a Bloomberg OPEC production survey also showed that production increased by 150,000 bpd in December compared to November, driven by the rise in Nigerian oil production.

Authorities Discover Illegal OPEC Oil Production in Nigeria

In October, Nigerian authorities discovered an illegal underwater pipeline 2.5 miles from the Forcados Nigeria export terminal. The national oil company NNPC stated at the time that it had been operating undetected for about nine years.

While above-ground taps have been known in Nigeria for decades, the underwater taps were the first of their kind. Nigeria estimates it loses about 600,000 barrels of crude oil per day due to theft. However, in December, Nigerian oil production reached an eight-month high of 1.35 million bpd, according to a Bloomberg survey.

The latest OPEC monthly oil production report indicated that OPEC oil output remained below specified quotas, with oil production dropping by 744,000 barrels per day in November. In November, production from Saudi Arabia fell by 404,000 bpd to 10.474 million bpd.

OPEC oil production also declined in November in the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Iraq, lifting the group’s production to 28.826 million bpd, the lowest since June.