Nigeria’s Oil Production Diminishes as Rig Count Records Minus 3

-By Fred Ojiegbe

Nigeria’s oil production in October witnessed a reduction as the country’s rig count recorded minus three, after posting seven as against 10 posted in September, data from the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC, stated.

This is coming at a time OPEC suffered a dismal minus 38, having recorded 325 in October, as against 363 recorded in September, while world rig count showed minus 2, having recorded 1,135 in October, as against 1,137 recorded in September. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia led the losers’ pack with its minus 15, as it posted a rig count of 70 in October as against 85 posted in September. This was followed by Kuwait which showed minus 12, having posted 29 in October, as against 41 posted in September. Kuwait followed with its minus seven, as its rig count showed 40 in October, as against 47 posted the previous month. Iraq, Libya and Venezuela, each showed minus one. While Iraq recorded 27 in October, as against 28 in September, Libya recorded eight as against nine within the period under review. Venezuela had a zero rig count in October as against one recorded in September. Among the 13 OPEC members, only Algeria recorded an increased rig count with its plus two, having recorded 24, as against 22 recorded within the period under review. Five OPEC members had their rig count unchanged within the period. They are Angola, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and Iran, which had 2, 0, 1, 0 and 117, respectively. Outside OPEC, the United States of America, had an impressive increase of 23, having posted a record 280, as against 257 posted within the period under review. Canada joined the league of winners with its plus 21, having recorded 81 in October, as against 60 recorded in September. However, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, OECD Europe witnessed minus 12, as its rig count for October stood at 101, as against 113 posted in September.

… OPEC to lower oil demand projections due to lockdowns
The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC has cut estimates for the amount of crude it will need to provide in 2021 as the return of measures to contain the global pandemic hits fuel use. The revision illustrates why the group’s de facto leader Saudi Arabia has said that OPEC and its allies may adjust plans to restore supply when next they meet. The virus’s effects will “linger” next year even with the announcement of a vaccine breakthrough, the group said. “The oil demand recovery will be severely hampered and sluggishness in transportation and industrial fuel demand is now assumed to last until mid-2021,” OPEC’s Vienna-based research department wrote in its latest monthly report. The group reduced forecasts from estimates in its previous report for the volume of crude it needs to pump this quarter by 960,000 barrels a day to 26.51 million a day. This follows significant downgrades in the past two months. While the cartel is actually pumping 2.1 million barrels a day less than the amount required, the revisions mean it’s not whittling away surplus oil stockpiles as quickly as previously estimated. The changes also mean if OPEC and its allies did proceed with their scheduled supply boost of 2 million barrels a day in January, the coalition would deplete world stockpiles during the first quarter by just a few hundred thousand barrels a day.