Angola Has Surpassed Nigeria As Africa’s Largest Oil Producer, With Crude Trading At $120 a Barrel.
BY Ebor Cletus Ralph Jr
Following an awful oil production output in May, Nigeria is no longer Africa’s leading oil producer, the largest decrease among its peers at a time when crude was trading at $121.33.
The current development would exacerbate Nigeria’s financial difficulties, as it means that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) may have to spend a significant portion of its meager export earnings to pay for fuel imports.
Based on direct communication, Nigeria’s oil output fell by 195,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 1.02 million bpd in May from 1.22 million in April, according to statistics acquired from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
Angola’s oil production was 1.16 million barrels per day (bpd) in May, according to direct communication.
“Crude oil output climbed mostly in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait,” according to the OPEC report, “while production in Libya, Nigeria, Iraq, Gabon, and Iran fell.”
“Preliminary data indicates that worldwide liquids output declined by 0.15 million bpd in May compared to the previous month, to an average 98.75 million bpd,” it noted.
Non-OPEC liquids output, including OPEC natural gas liquids (NGLs), climbed by a tiny 23,000 bpd month over month in May to an average 70.2 million bpd, but was up 1.7 million bpd year over year.
“The share of OPEC crude oil in total global output declined by 0.1 percentage points to 28.9% in May compared to the previous month,” according to the report.
“For non-OPEC supply, OPEC NGLs, and non-conventional oil, estimates are based on preliminary data from direct communication, whereas estimates for OPEC crude production are based on secondary sources.”
Meanwhile, according to Reuters statistics, Brent crude, the international benchmark price, is trading at $120 per barrel on Monday morning.
While the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude in the United States is currently trading at $119.03 per barrel.