Nigeria keeps promise to OPEC, cuts production by 185,000/b

Nigeria is bridging all gaps in fulfilment of its pledge to cut production in alignment with the OPEC+ pact, as production falls by 185, 000 barrels per day.

The country’s crude oil production plunged by 185,000 barrels per day to 1.59 million bpd in May, according to latest data obtained from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

OPEC and partners agreed in April to cut output in response to low demand and crashing prices caused by the coronavirus crisis.

An outstanding 9.7 million barrels per of supply was to be cut forom May to June but the deal was extended this month to July.

However, Nigeria failed to keep its side of the agreement since the new cut which prompted the country through its Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, to promise a compensation cut. According to him, Nigeria would be producing 1.412 million bpd in May and June, in addition to condensate production of between 360,000 and 460,000 bpd exempted from OPEC curtailment.

But OPEC said the country’s production level, based on secondary sources, was 180,000 bpd or about 13 percent higher than the quota given to it.

The group uses secondary sources to monitor its oil output, but also publishes a table of figures submitted by its member countries. Nigeria did not provide its production figure for May, the report showed.

The number of active oil rigs in the country fell by 50 percent in May amid the coronavirus-induced collapse in prices and demand for crude.

Data obtained from Baker Hughes Incorporated and the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries showed that Nigeria’s rig count fell to eight in May from 16 in April and 21 in March.

SOURCE: sweetcrudereports.com