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Nigeria increases crude oil production by over 1 million barrels in October

Umito November 13, 2024

*IPMAN says he expects gasoline price deal with Dangote refinery in 48 hours*Crude nears two-week low as OPEC cuts forecast by request

Nigeria’s crude oil production increased by 35,000 barrels per day in October to about 1.085 million barrels for the month under review, a report from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said yesterday.

Citing secondary sources, OPEC, in its Monthly Oil Market Report (MOMR), said Africa’s largest oil producer recorded production of 1.434 million barrels per day last month, up from 1.399 million b/d in September.

However, direct communication from Nigeria, OPEC said, showed that the country’s average crude oil production for October was 1.333 million b/d, an increase of 9,000 barrels from 1.324 million b/d from the previous month.

Also yesterday, the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) said discussions were ongoing with the Dangote Refinery to agree the price of gasoline coming out of the $20 billion facility located in Lagos.

The National Assistant Secretary of IPMAN, Yakubu Suleiman, who spoke on Arise Television, the broadcasting arm of THISDAY, noted that IPMAN was fully prepared to start extracting petroleum products from the refinery at affordable prices.

He said: “We are very ready to start the withdrawal of Dangote… and they had a very fruitful discussion, which ultimately will allow us to build a good synergy… and we are happy that with this meeting with Dangote now, we have already resolved all the essential issues.

“And it’s all about how can we have a cheaper price of oil? It really bothers us that Nigerians are buying at a higher rate. But I want to assure you that discussions with Dangote are still ongoing, I I believe that between today and tomorrow, we will put an end to the issue of prices,” he declared.

He assured that when the price is agreed, the Chairman of IPMAN, Abubakar Shettima, will also address Nigerians on the new rate to eliminate any nuance of opacity.

He added that there was no cartel within IPMAN and stressed that the association simply sought to eliminate middlemen in the distribution process.

“There is no question of cartel even within IPMAN. IPMAN is not a cartel – we are traders ready to serve Nigerians,” he said.

Meanwhile, oil prices fell near a two-week low yesterday after falling around 5 percent over the past two sessions as investors absorbed OPEC’s latest downward revision regarding the growth in demand.