Nigeria Blamed Theft and Sabotage for Slump in March Crude Oil Output

SEATTLE (Oil Monster): Nigeria’s crude oil production declined marginally by 0.02% to 1.45 million barrels per day during the month of March this year, according to recent survey carried out by S&P Global Commodity Insights. This is upon comparison with output 1.47 million bpd in the prior month.

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Nigeria’s crude production totalled 41.25 million bpd in March 2024. The country blamed rising incidents of crude oil thefts, drastic dip in oil and gas sector investment and sabotage among others as the reasons for the reduced output. Nigeria’s OPEC+ production figures have remained more or less inconsistent. It must be noted that Nigeria had recently revised upwards its production targets to 1.5 million bpd.

The crude exports from Nigeria too took a hit as the local Dangote oil refinery accepted more cargoes.

Meantime, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and OPEC have not yet released official production figures for the month of March this year.

The Nigerian oil and gas industry faces several significant challenges that hinder its growth and development. It lacks adequate infrastructure, including refineries, pipelines, storage facilities, and transport networks. Added to these are security issues such as crude oil theft, pipeline vandalism and sabotage.