Nigerian oil production hit
its highest level ever this week, reaching 2.7 million barrels per day, the
state oil firm said Friday, though hurdles remain to a sustained boost in
production.
Nigeria, home to Africa's largest oil industry, has seen crude production
rebound since a 2009 amnesty deal for militants in the Niger Delta region which
led to a sharp decline in unrest there.
It has been producing between 2.0 million and 2.4 million barrels per day in
recent months, according to figures from the International Energy Agency. The
head of state oil firm NNPC said production reached 2.7 million barrels a day
Wednesday.
Besides the improvement in security, French firm Total SA (TOT) recently began
long-awaited production at its offshore Usan field, with a capacity of 180,000
barrels per day.
But new investment has been limited in recent years in Nigeria due to
uncertainty over a proposed sweeping overhaul of the oil industry that has been
long in the works.
President Goodluck Jonathan forwarded a new version of the legislation to
parliament in July.
Sabotage and oil theft in the Niger Delta region to feed a lucrative black
market also continues to be a major problem.
Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSB), historically Nigeria's largest producer, said in
April that there have been estimates that 150,000 barrels per day of oil and
condensate is stolen in the country.