Nigeria, JV Partners Earn $3.44bn in June

Nigeria and her Joint Venture (JV) partners which include ExxonMobil, Shell, Chevron, Agip, Total and others, earned $3.44 billion from crude  oil export in June 2015 going by the daily production output of 1.903 million bpd at the monthly average price of $60.21 per barrel for the month of June.

PRODUCTIONS

As at press time, the data of stranded cargoes for June is not yet available but barring any incidence of stranded cargoes for the month, Nigeria and her Joint Venture (JV) partners should earn about $3.437 billion from crude oil export for the month of June.

Meanwhile, the country’s crude oil production increased by 87,400 barrels per day (bpd) for the month of June, signposting President Muhammadu  Buhari’s first month in office. The country’s crude oil production moved from 1,816,000 barrels per day for the month of May to 1,903,000 bpd for the month of June, according to data based on secondary sources released in the latest OPEC Monthly Oil Market Report.

“The increase in Nigeria’s output for June is marginal. However, it may not be unconnected with the reduced level of vandalism of the pipelines and reduced crude oil theft, as a result of the Nigerian Navy’s renewed onslaught on crude oil thieves.

“I do not recall any major case of pipeline vandalism in June.  As a correlation, if you notice, power supply has also improved and is about 3,800 MW, again due to reduced vandalism of the gas pipelines”, said Wesley Omonfoman, an energy consultant based in Lagos.

Other industry experts say the increase in power output levels is largely due to the rainy season peaking and water flows from there helping to power the hydro station turbines.

“It could also be restoration of production after the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) strike which affected May production numbers”, added Omonfoman.

According to the report, total OPEC crude oil production averaged 31.38 million barrels per day in June, an increase of 283,000 barrels per day over the previous month.

“Crude oil output increased mostly from Iraq, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia, while production showed minor drops in Libya, Iran and Algeria. OPEC crude oil production, not including Iraq, stood at 27.37 million bpd in June, down by 85,000 barrels per day over the previous month”, stated OPEC in the monthly report.

OPEC says in the report, that world oil demand in 2015 is now expected to grow by 1.28 million bpd, following an upward revision of 100,000 bpd since the last report. In 2016, world oil demand growth is forecast to  pick up, reaching 1.34 million bpd.

“With over 15 million barrels unsold in May, in an oversupply of sweet crude, it may not be in Nigeria’s best interest to increase daily crude oil production at this time. Focus should be on increased gas production”, said Omonfoman.

On the linkage between President Buhari’s presidency and the increase in Nigeria’s crude oil output, Omonfoman said that “both the good and the bad are still studying the new government of President Buhari and it may well be that it is the calm before a storm”.

President Muhammadu Buhari had assured some oil and gas sector key officials when he played host to them, that his administration would put in place reforms to boost accountability and transparency in the nation’s oil and gas sector.

“We understand the situation in the industry and we will do our best to address the challenges affecting the exploration, production and distribution of oil products in the country,’’ the President was quoted as saying in a statement by Garba Shehu, his senior special assistant on media and publicity.

FRANK UZUEGBUNAM