Nigeria recorded an average daily oil production of 2.07 million barrels per day (mbpd) in the first quarter of 2020 (Q1 ’20) and that was the highest production level in five years, according to the report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The production level was higher than the 1.99mbpd recorded in the same quarter of 2019 by 0.08mbpd and the fourth quarter of 2019 by 0.06mbpd.
The report showed that the country produced 2.05 mpbd in the first quarter of 2016, while 2.04 mpbd was recorded in Q3 2019 the third highest volume during the period.
The fourth average daily oil production level was recorded in Q3 ’17 and Q2 ’19 when the country produced 2.02 mbpd to scale over 1.98 mbpd and 1.99 mbpd recorded in Q1’18 and Q1 ’19 respectively.
The lowest production levels were 1.61mbpd achieved in Q3 ’16 when the country was at the bottom of the trough occasioned by the 15-month recession.
“The oil sector recorded a real growth rate of 5.06% (year-on-year) in Q1 2020 indicating an increase of 6.51% points relative to the rate recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2019. However, growth decreased by –1.30% points when compared to Q4 2019 which was 6.36%.
“Quarter-on-quarter, the oil sector recorded a growth rate of 11.30% in Q1 2020. The Oil sector contributed 9.50% to aggregate real GDP in Q1 2020, up from figures recorded in the corresponding period of 2019 and the preceding quarter, as the share of the non-oil economy declined,” the NBS report stated.
Available records showed that Nigeria’s earnings from the oil and gas sector rose marginally by three per cent (year-on-year), to N5.536 trillion in 2019 from N5.39 trillion in the 2018 fiscal year
This is contained in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) quarterly economic report (Q1 ’19), the latest, released in January 2020, which indicated that oil and gas earnings accounted for 54.2 per cent of the total federally-collected revenue of N10.21 trillion in 2019.
Further insight by the report revealed that oil revenue stood at N1.41 trillion in the first quarter of 2019, representing 4.1 per cent (quarter-on-quarter) as against N1.47 trillion recorded in the preceding fourth quarter of 2018.
Oil revenue however dropped by 12.93 per cent (quarter-to-quarter), to N1.219 trillion in the second quarter of 2019.
Furthermore, oil revenue climbed slightly by 9.93 per cent (quarter-to-quarter), to N1.34 trillion in the third quarter and appreciated further by 16.4 per cent (quarter-to-quarter) to N1.56 trillion in the fourth quarter.
The revenue accruing from the Q1 ’20 oil production level of 2.07 mbpd has not been published by the CBN.