Nigeria’s crude oil and condensate production has fallen almost 50% from the start of the year to around 1.1 million b/d, an official from state oil firm Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. said after reports of a fresh attack on an oil and gas pipeline in the Niger Delta .
“The waves of attack on virtually [most] oil pipelines and production facilities in the western division of the Niger Delta have crippled operations there,” the NNPC official told Platts.
“We estimate total production losses to be around 1 million b/d, so we are currently down to 1.1 million b/d,” he added. Renewed militancy in the oil-rich Niger Delta has resurfaced after years of relative calm, pushing the country’s output to more than 20-year lows.
NNPC said production was averaging around 2.2 million b/d at the start of the year. In mid-May, oil minister Emmanuel Kachikwu said that production had plummeted to 1.4 million b/d, and since then attacks on oil infrastructure have continued, pushing output down further.
Currently, four Nigerian crude export grades — Qua Iboe, Bonny Light, Brass River and Forcados — are under force majeure. All of these grades except for Qua Iboe are under force majeure as a direct result of the militant attacks.
