By Moses Patience Chat
Nigeria has lost a revenue of N500 billion in January 2023 as a result of low crude oil production.
Valuechain findings show that the country was not able to reach the production quota of 1.79 million barrels per day that was allotted to it by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
Industry data seen by Valuechain also confirmed that Nigeria’s production was low as it was able to produce and export only 1.2 million barrels per day out of the last quota given to them by OPEC.
Based on available records, the export of 1.2 million barrels per day resulted in a total of 37.2 million barrels in the month of January instead of the 49.6 million barrels allocated to Nigeria by OPEC.
Energy experts estimated that Nigeria was expected to make a revenue of N2 trillion if it had met the production quota given to it by the international oil and gas cartel. However, the country’s production shortfall made it to generate a revenue of N1.5 trillion instead of N2 trillion leaving the country with a N500 billion lost.
Mr Mele Kyari, the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, tied the country’s low production to oil theft and pipeline vandalism. According to him, Nigeria, which is supposed to be Africa’s biggest oil hub, lost about 900,000 barrels of crude oil per day and this was due to oil theft.
