Angola leapfrogs Nigeria as Africa’s top oil producer for the month of August

Nigeria has lost its place as the top-ranked oil producer in Africa and that comes because of Angola’s emergence as number one for the month of August. 
 
Nigeria lost its crown as Africa’s largest crude producer for the month of August as Angola surpassed the country for the first time in close to a decade. 
 
According to Bloomberg’s survey of monthly OPEC output, the Southern African nation’s average daily output in August of 1.17 million barrels was more than Nigeria’s at 1.13 million barrels. 
 
“The last time that happened was in April 2017 when both nations were pumping about 500 000 barrels a day more, the same data show,” reports Moneyweb. 
 
“Nigeria’s production has declined steadily since 2020 and has reached multi-decade lows this year. The government has blamed massive levels of theft on the pipelines that crisscross the oil-rich Niger Delta in southern Nigeria.” 
 
Meanwhile, North Africa’s producer, Libya, managed to deliver 1.08 million barrels of crude a day last month, and based on the survey, they could soon overtake Nigeria if the West African country continues on its current trajectory. 
 
Recent statistics released by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission depict a bleaker picture, with output at only 972 000 barrels a day last month.  
 
The publication reports that figure rose to 1.18 million barrels when condensate – a light hydrocarbon that is exempt from OPEC quotas – is included. 
 
Image: Petroleo Angola/Plataforma Media