Federal Republic of Nigeria Minister of Petroleum, Diezani Allison-Muedeke. Reports released in early 2011 said that the production of oil was up during December 2010. Contrary reports have indicated that overall production of crude is down in Nigeria.
Originally uploaded by Pan-African News Wire File Photos
By Martin Ayankola with agency report
Nigeria Punch
Tuesday, 4 Jan 2011
Nigeria’s crude oil output surged by 100,000 barrels per day from 2.12 million bpd to 2.22 million bpd, a four-year high, in December, according to a survey by Bloomberg News.
The survey said it was the largest increase by any member of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries.
It added that Nigeria, Africa’s biggest producer, exceeded its OPEC quota by 547,000 bpd, the largest by any member as oil producing companies recovered from disruptions in November.
The survey said the increase was achieved through the lifting of a force majeure on the production of Bonny Light crude due to a leak in the Trans-Niger pipeline and the resumption of production on both the Oso and Okoro fields, which were attacked by militants earlier in the month.
It stated that OPEC’s oil output climbed to a four-month high in December, led by increases in Nigeria and Iraq, as rising oil prices encouraged production.
It said production gained 135,000 barrels or 0.5 per cent, to an average 29.185 million bpd, according to the survey of oil companies, producers and analysts.
The report said production by members with quotas, all except Iraq, rose by 100,000 barrels to 26.8 million, about two million above their target.
It added that compliance with the quotas, which took effect in January 2009, to strengthen oil prices that had tumbled to below $40 a barrel, was 53 per cent in December, down from 56 per cent in November.
According to the report, prices had risen by 6.8 per cent on the New York Mercantile Exchange in December and touched a 26-month high of $91.88 a barrel on December 27.
Iraq, OPEC’s third-largest producer after Saudi Arabia and Iran, pumped an average of 2.39 million barrels a day, up 35,000 barrels a day from November, according to the survey. Iraqi oil production exceeded 2.6 million bpd for the first time in 20 years, newly-appointed Iraqi Oil Minister, Abdul Kareem al- Luaibi, said last week at a press conference in Baghdad.
Angola cut output by 30,000 barrels to 1.7 million, the biggest reduction by any member. The country pumped 183,000 bpd above its target.
Iran pumped 25,000 bpd less in December than November, bringing the average to 3.7 million bpd. That remained 364,000 barrels over its quota, the second-largest overproduction level by any member.
Saudi Arabia, OPEC’s largest oil producer, boosted output by 15,000 bpd in December to 8.25 million bpd, or 199,000 above its quota.
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