Africa: Nigeria regains its spot as Africa’s top oil producer over Angola
By Damir Kaletovic
Oilprice
OPEC figures show that Nigeria is regaining its status as Africa’s top oil producer–a status that had been assumed by Angola for the seven months leading up to September as Nigeria bowed to Niger Delta groups that took hundreds of thousands of barrels offline.
By November 2016, Nigeria managed to increase its oil production to nearly 1.8 million barrels per day according to OPEC direct communication figures.
Nigeria has experienced an approximately 700,000 barrel per day daily production decline because of militant attacks on the Nigerian oil infrastructure in the Niger Delta. With no new major attacks since mid-June 2016, production has risen to approximately 1.77 million barrels per day.
Further solidifying Nigeria’s top spot as Africa’s No.1 producer, the OPEC output agreement sealed at the end of 2016 calls for Angola to cut about 87,000 barrels per day of its production off a reference basket of 1.751, which would cap Angola to 1.673 million barrels per day for the next six months.
Still, Nigeria still has a long way to go until it recovers to its full capacity, but if it can keep the militancy in check production should rise, thanks to its exemption from OPEC cuts due to the damage to its oil infrastructure caused by the Niger Delta groups.
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Lagos, Nigeria
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Video: Lagos, Nigeria
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Video: Lagos, Nigeria
Third Mainland Bridge
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Video: Views over neighborhoods of Lagos, Nigeria
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Video: Lagos, Nigeria
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