By Moses Patience Chat
The latest report released by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has revealed that despite adding about 48,000 barrels per day in February, Nigeria’s oil rig count remains stagnant in the month of March.
According to the new data from OPEC’s Monthly Oil Market Report (MOMR) released for the month, expectations that the rig count could hit 14 from 13 this month were not feasible, as the rig count remains at 13.
The MOMR also revealed that there had been hopes of additional rigs when offshore contractor, Dolphin Drilling, in February had one of its semi-submersible rigs on its way to Nigeria, and was expected to start its new drilling campaign, but there was no positive outcome.
In addition, Blackford Dolphin had departed Las Palmas and was already en route Nigeria, following a successful shipyard campaign, which enabled recertification for a further five years. It appeared from industry data that they had yet to begin operation as of the second month of this year.
The report also revealed that Nigeria’s oil output had begun to rebound since October last year, after a multi-decade low of 900,000 bpd, with the rate of growth rising to 28,000 barrels per day in January and 48,000 bpd in February, hitting 1.3 million bpd during the month.
The figures were lower when compared to the over 55,000 bpd increase in December, based on data from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), but much better than the 28,000 bpd January production figure and the 48,000 bpd drilling in February.
The MOMR also showed that while the average rig count was 16 in 2019, it fell to 11 to 2020, and then further to seven in 2021.
Furthermore, the report disclosed that there have been massive underinvestment in the country’s oil and gas sector, which weakened the oil rigs.
The report further stated that despite the remarkable recovery in global crude oil demand, Nigeria has been unable to ramp up production, following massive theft of the resource in the Niger Delta, as well as shutdowns due to frequent equipment failure.
The velocity however, has now been slowed, with the February data showing that no new rigs came into the country, although there have been an improvement in the volume of oil drilled, which is still significantly lower by at least 500,000 bpd