Abubakar Yunusa, Abuja
More worries for the Nigerian government as crude oil production dropped below the one million mark in August 2022.
The oil output averaged 972,394 barrels per day (bpd) for the month, hitting an all-time low.
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) disclosed this in its latest crude oil and condensate production data for August 2022.
According to the report, the drop is more than 10 percent compared to July 2022 production at 1.08 million barrels a day and lower than the 1.8 million bpd production quota set by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
With condensate, production averaged 1.18 million barrels a per day for the month.
Nigeria had been struggling to meet over 1.8 million barrels per day production quota of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) occasioned by oil theft and pipeline vandalism.
It also affected the country’s earnings, resulting in a significant drop in monthly allocation to the federation account.
On Wednesday, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) said its members would withdraw services if there is no traceable progress in tackling oil theft.
Oil producers in Nigeria had also asked the federal government to tackle the menace of illegal oil bunkers, especially in the Niger Delta.
They said oil thieves are raking in ‘petrodollars’ while the country is bedevilled by low production.
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