Libya top Nigeria as Africa’s highest oil producer

Nigeria’s crude oil production fell by 6.8% to 1.23 million barrels per day in March 2024 from 1.32 million bpd in February 2024, making Libya the continent’s top producer of crude oil.

However, the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, or OPEC, reports that Libya’s oil production increased by 5.4% to 1.236 million barrels per day in March 2024 from 1.173 million barrels per day in February 2024.

This was revealed in OPEC’s April 2024 Monthly Oil Market Report (MOMR), which Vanguard was able to obtain.

OPEC is a permanent intergovernmental organisation of 12 oil-exporting developing nations that coordinates and unifies the petroleum policies of its Member Countries. The report’s findings were based on information OPEC obtained from official sources in Nigeria.

According to OPEC, Nigeria maintained its dominance on the continent during the time, producing 1.398 million barrels per day compared to Libya’s 1.161 million barrels per day, based on secondary sources.

However, OPEC stated: “According to secondary sources, total OPEC-12 crude oil production averaged 26.60 mb/d in March 2024.

“According to secondary sources, total OPEC-12 crude oil production averaged 26.60 mb/d in March 2024, 3 tb/d higher, m-o-m. Crude oil output increased mainly in IR Iran, Saudi Arabia, Gabon, and Kuwait, while production in Nigeria, Iraq, and Venezuela decreased.”

Meanwhile, the Federal Government has expressed concerns over the capacity of the industry to meet its domestic crude obligations to local refineries, insisting that supply to local refineries remain a priority.

Speaking at a meeting to review Domestic Crude Oil Supply Obligation as contained under Section 109(2) of the Petroleum Industry Act, PIA 2021, the Chief Executive, Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, Engr. Gbenga Komolafe, insisted that priority must be given to crude supply to local refineries.

Komolafe pointed out that the overall objective of the government was to ensure that Nigeria became a net exporter of refined petroleum products.

“Producers should satisfy their domestic crude oil supply to the domestic refineries so that, as a nation, we seize the opportunity to reverse the ugly trend by ensuring that we develop our midstream and end up being a net exporter of petroleum products, especially now that we are trying to exit the subsidy regime. The only way to sustain that is to become robust in our domestic refining capacity.”