Nigeria has lost its position as Africa’s leading oil producer to Angola. Authorities are struggling to deal with oil theft along pipelines, a phenomenon that seems increasingly out of control.
With our correspondent in Lagos, Liza Fabbian
Nigeria’s oil production has been falling steadily since 2020, and is now at its lowest in over 30 years. In August, national oil production was only 972,000 barrels per day, 112,000 less than in July.
The most populous country in Africa therefore loses its place as the continent’s leading producer for the benefit of Angola. Failing infrastructure, corruption and oil theft are blamed for this downgrade. Between 400,000 and 700,000 barrels of crude are allegedly diverted and some oil companies claim that up to 80% of their production is stolen. This translates into billions of dollars in lost revenue for the Nigerian government, whose oil revenues are also plummeting.
In July, the national oil company NNPC did not report revenues, while oil exports amounted to just over 5 million dollars in May, against almost 76 million dollars five months earlier. The fall in oil production in Nigeria is also coupled with huge expenditures to maintain significant gasoline subsidies, which are dragging growth down a little more.
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