Nigeria’s average daily crude oil production dropped to 1.25m barrels per day (bpd) in May 2024, according to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
The decline represents a 2.34 per cent fall from the 1.28m barrels per day recorded in April.
OPEC made this known in its monthly oil market report.
The organization assembles oil production data on crude oil production from direct communication with member countries and energy intelligence platforms.
Despite the decline, OPEC said Nigeria retained its position as the largest oil producer in Africa.
Libya followed with a production of 901,000 bpd in the reviewed month while Algeria emerged as the third-largest oil producer with 264,00 bpd in May.
OPEC said secondary sources reported that Nigeria’s crude production increased by five percent to 1.41m bpd from 1.35 million bpd reported in April.
It said both production levels fell below Nigeria’s 2024 OPEC production quota of 1.5 million bpd.
OPEC said, “Crude oil output increased mainly in Nigeria, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, while production in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Libya and Congo decreased.
“At the same time, total non-OPEC DoC crude oil production averaged 14.29 mb/d in May 2024, 152 tb/d lower, mouth-on-mouth.
“Crude oil output increased mainly in Mexico, while production in Russia and Kazakhstan decreased.”