Nigeria hopes to meet its daily crude oil output target in two weeks as officials reopen wells that had to be closed to keep criminals at bay.
In an interview with Bloomberg TV, Finance Minister Zainab Ahmed stated that Africa’s largest oil producer will achieve its quota of producing 1.6 million barrels of petroleum per day. For months, the country has been generating at 20% of its capability.
“The security authorities have put in a lot of effort, and we’ve witnessed an increase in production figures.” There was a moment when it was as low as 1.2 million barrels per day in the previous month. According to Finance Minister Zainab Ahmed, “several of the wells that had to be shut in due to crime have now been reopened.”
Despite increased oil prices as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Nigeria has struggled to achieve its OPEC quota. Nigeria’s major foreign-exchange earner is crude oil sales, and its failure to reach output objectives means the country, which is also dealing with a dollar shortage, is missing out on an opportunity to develop its foreign reserves.
Vandalization of Nigeria’s oil infrastructure, specifically the pipeline network has been a major setback of the crude oil production output.
Globally, oil is on track for its third weekly decline in a row, as virus-affected China’s lockdowns continue and the U.S. Federal Reserve signals that monetary policy will be forcefully tightened to curb decades-high inflation.
Brent crude ended the day at $106.65 a barrel, down $1.68, or 1.6 percent. The price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil in the United States fell $1.72, or 1.7 percent, to $102.07. To combat a new Covid-19 wave, the world’s largest crude importer has implemented a number of lockdowns, notably in Shanghai. Fuel consumption has been reduced as a result of the restrictions, prompting analysts to lower their growth projections.
Despite recent weakening, oil is still up more than 35% this year as the aftermath from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues to unsettle markets and disrupt petroleum shipments.