Nigeria’s Oil Earnings Rise to N1.68 Trillion in June as Output Increases

Patrick OdeyJuly 14, 2023

2 minutes read

Nigeria recorded a commendable rise in crude oil earnings in June 2023 due to the recent increase in the output of the product in the country, data released by the federal government revealed. According to the data, over N1.68 trillion was earned last month alone following the latest development.

The latest report of the Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) indicated that the country’s daily oil output in the review month rose to 1,248,960 barrels.

This was an improvement from 1,183,691 barrels of crude oil daily in May, which was 65,269 barrels lower than what the country produced in June. The total crude oil output in June was 37,468,798 barrels, up from a total of 36,694,427 barrels that were produced in the preceding month of May.

This implied that Nigeria’s oil output increased by 774,326 barrels in June when compared to what it produced in May. A report earlier by the World Bank put the average cost of crude oil in June 2023 at $74.89/barrel.

By delivering an increased production of 37,468,798 in June, it implied that the country raked in about 2.81bn from the commodity last month. Therefore, at an average exchange rate of N600.43/ in June, according to data from dollar/naira spot exchange rates for 2023, it meant that the Federal Government’s oil earnings in June rose to N1.68tn.

It was about N1.28tn in May when the average price of crude oil and the exchange rate in that month was 75.70/barrel and N461.4/, respectively.

The average exchange rate of the dollar increased in June, as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) unified the country’s exchange rates into the Investors and Exporters window on June 14, 2023, allowing market forces to determine the rate.

Oil output from Nigeria has been fluctuating for the past year, as the country recorded its lowest oil production volume of 0.937 million barrels per day in September 2022.

The Federal Government and oil sector players blamed this on the massive crude theft in Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger Delta.

The situation also led to revenue losses for the country, international oil companies operating in Nigeria, as well as indigenous operators in the industry.

But the country’s oil output started improving after September, following concerted efforts by security officials and oil operators, as industry figures showed that crude production rose to 1.014 million barrels per day in October. This indicated an increase of 0.077mbpd when compared to the 0.937mbpd output in September.

In November, the country pumped 1.185mbpd crude, representing an increase of 0.171mbpd when matched against what was produced in October.

Reports revealed that the rise in output continued in December last year, as Nigeria produced 1.253mbpd in that month, indicating an increase of 0.05mbpd when compared to its output in November.

The 1.258mbpd oil production in January 2023 was about 23,000bpd higher than the 1.235mbpd crude oil output in December 2022. The momentum was sustained in February, with an output of 1.31mbpd. But the volume dropped to 1.27mbpd in March, putting an end to the seven-month run in Nigeria’s oil output. It further went down in April to 0.998mbpd.

In its latest publication, the NUPRC revealed that the rise in oil production in May was sustained in June, as the country pumped 1,183mbpd in May, while its output rose to 1.25mbpd in June.