Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has disclosed that Nigeria’s crude oil production rose to 1.38 million barrels per day (bpd) in March.
Gatekeepers News reports that the figure represents about a 5.25 percent increase from the 1.31 million bpd recorded in February, based on data from direct communication with Nigerian authorities.
Despite the improvement, Nigeria still fell short of its OPEC production quota of 1.5 million bpd by roughly 117,000 bpd.
OPEC also noted that Nigeria maintained its position as Africa’s top oil producer, ahead of Libya, which recorded about 1.30 million bpd within the same period.
Using secondary sources, the oil cartel estimated Nigeria’s production even higher at 1.46 million bpd in March, slightly up from 1.44 million bpd in February.
The latest increase signals a recovery in output after earlier declines, although the country continues to struggle to consistently meet its production targets due to ongoing operational and structural challenges in the oil sector.
