Despite Nigeria’s recovery; Angola remains top oil producer

Five months after it overtook Nigeria as Africa’s top oil producer, Angola retained the status in July despite a reported increase of 147,400 barrels per day in Nigeria’s production, data from the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries have shown.

OPEC, in its Monthly Oil Market Report for August, which was released on Wednesday, put crude oil production from Nigeria at 1.527 million bpd in July based on direct communication, up from 1.379 million bpd in June.

Nigeria recorded the biggest increase in output in the month among its peers in OPEC, followed by Saudi Arabia, whose production rose by 123,000 bpd to 10.67 million bpd in July, according to the data.

Exports and production of Nigeria’s popular crude grade Forcados continued to be shut in due to a sabotage-related spill on the subsea pipeline. Shell had on February 21 declared force majeure on the grade.

The country has seen a rise in militant attacks in its main oil-producing region, the Niger Delta in recent times, denting oil production.

Nigeria had in March lost the top spot to Angola when the country’s production dropped to 1.677 million bpd, compared to Angola’s 1.782 million bpd.

Angola saw its oil output rise to 1.761 million bpd in July from 1.752 million bpd the previous month, based on direct communication, according to the OPEC report.

The southern African country had in November 2015 overtaken Nigeria in output level as it produced 1.722 million bpd, compared to 1.607 million bpd produced by Nigeria, OPEC’s December report showed.

According to secondary sources, total OPEC crude oil production in July averaged 33.11 million bpd, an increase of 46,000 bpd over the previous month.

OPEC, which uses secondary sources to monitor its oil output but also publishes a table of figures submitted by its 12-member countries, said the group’s total production in July averaged 33.11 million bpd, an increase of 46,000 bpd over the previous month.

The 14-member oil cartel said in the report that crude oil output increased mostly from Iraq, while production in Nigeria showed the largest drop.

It said Nigeria’s crude oil production dropped by 41,000 bpd to 1.508 million bpd in July, according to secondary sources.

OPEC said, “Africa’s oil supply is projected to average 2.11 million bpd in 2016, a decline of 30,000 bpd year-on-year and revised down by 10,000 bpd from the previous report.

“In 2016, oil production from Congo is only expected to grow by 30,000 bpd to average 310,000 bpd, while output in other African countries – despite increasing output from Ghana’s production start-up in the ‘TEN’ project and production ramp-up in Jubilee field in the second half of 2016 – will decline or to be stagnant in 2016.”

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