Nigeria’s oil production topped Africa’s chart in March – OPEC

Nigeria retained its position as Africa’s largest crude oil producer in March, according to the latest report released by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), despite a slight decline in output.

The monthly report, released on Monday, April 14, revealed that Nigeria’s oil production dropped to 1.40 million barrels per day (bpd) in March from 1.46 million bpd in February. Nonetheless, the country maintained a lead over other African oil producers, including Algeria and the Republic of the Congo.

OPEC’s figures, based on direct communication, show that Nigeria outperformed Algeria, which produced 909,000 bpd, and Congo, with 263,000 bpd. Nigeria also surpassed its February output, with OPEC reporting 1.51 million bpd for March, down from 1.54 million bpd the previous month.

The organisation noted that total crude oil production by OPEC and its allies, known as the Declaration of Cooperation (DoC), averaged 41.02 million bpd in March, marking a month-on-month decrease of 37,000 bpd.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) confirmed that the country’s actual crude production for March stood at 1,400,783 bpd. Although the figure reflects a decrease, it represents 93 percent of Nigeria’s OPEC production quota of 1.5 million bpd.