The mainstay of the Nigerian economy is currently being threatened by the spate of attacks on oil facilities by Niger Delta militants who have risen up in three different groups so far.
Nigeria’s financial troubles deteriorated further yesterday as oil production suffered deficit of record 1.01 million barrels per day, raising the revenue losses by the country and international Oil companies (IOCs) to N10.1 billion ($50.5 million) daily.
Head of Energy Research at Ecobank, Dolapo Oni, who gave this hint, said that the crude production in Nigeria, hitherto the biggest crude producer in Africa, has now dipped to about 990,000 barrels per day. This disturbing news came hours after the renewed militancy in the country’s oil-rich Niger Delta began to take a toll.
In a more drastic estimate of the economic implication of attacks on oil and gas installations, Oni, according to Reuters, said: “Between pipeline repairs and militant attacks, Nigeria is probably producing no more than 990,000 barrels of oil every day.”
Prior to the renewed attacks, the federal government had projected a daily production of 2.2 million barrels in the country’s 2016 budget. This, according to data compiled by New Telegraph, indicates a deficit of 1.01 million barrels per day.
With crude price hovering around $50 per barrel yesterday, the losses in revenue on the 1.01 million barrels deficit amounted to N10.1 billion ($50.5 million) daily. As the renewed militancy in Nigeria dipped the country’s production, the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), also suffered the same fate.
The output of the cartel in May was also down by 120,000 bpd over oil installation attacks in Nigeria. The organisation is, however, scheduled to meet today over the May output slide from near a record high, as attacks on Nigeria’s oil industry and other outages outweighed increases in Iran and Gulf members. Months of militant attacks on pipelines and oil infrastructure in the Niger Delta have crippled production in Nigeria.
The militant group behind the attacks, the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA), vowed in an early communiqué to reduce Nigeria’s economy to “zero.” They appear to be getting their wish.
Exports have fallen from about 2.2 million barrels per day to as low as 990,000 barrels per day, analysts said, making Angola Africa’s largest producer of oil, at least for now. The drop in production and the low price of oil globally are major reasons Nigeria is expected to enter a recession by the end of this month.
Source: New Telegraph