Nigeria’s crude oil production rises by 230,900 bpd

NIGERIA’S crude oil production output for May, increased by 230,900 barrels per day (bpd), according to the monthly oil market report of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) released on Wednesday.

Specifically, the country’s production output, based on direct communication, rose from 1.650 million barrels per day in April to 1.881 million bpd in May.

The country’s crude oil production output for April had earlier increased by 19,000 bpd, while the figure based on secondary sources, put the rise in April at 1.886 bpd from 1.867 bpd recorded in March

According to the report, production by member countries in May rose by 24,000 barrels per day (bpd), due to increases in Iraq and Angola and record output in top exporter Saudi Arabia.

OPEC said it expected that the world’s oversupply of crude oil to ease over the coming quarters. “The projections for market fundamentals indicate that the current oversupply in the market is likely to ease over the coming quarters. “It should be recognized that market stability remains a common objective for all market participants, attainable through cooperative effort.

“Based on these expectations for the second half of the year, the OPEC conference agreed to maintain its output at 30 mbpd and urged members countries to adhere to it. In agreeing to this decision, member countries confirmed their commitment to a stable and balanced oil market, with prices at levels suitable for both producers and consumers.”

“Low oil-price expectations” despite a small rise in the first quarter, are part of the reason for the reduced growth outlook, OPEC said.

OPEC also left forecasts for 2015 growth in world oil demand and the demand for OPEC crude unchanged.

It disclosed that global oil demand growing at 1.18 mbpd in 2015, higher than in the previous year’s growth of 0.96 mbpd and unchanged from last month’s report.

OPEC noted that total oil consumption is expected to pick up pace in 2H15, leading to a total oil demand of 92.50 mbpd for 2015.

Non-OPEC oil supply in 2015 is projected to grow by 0.68 mbpd, in line with the previous forecast and below last year’s strong growth of 2.17 mbpd.

OPEC NGLs are forecast to grow by 0.19 mbpd to average 6.02 mbpd in 2015, following growth of 0.18 mbpd in 2014. In May, OPEC production rose to 30.98 mbpd, up by 0.02 mbpd, according to secondary sources.

Meanwhile, OPEC said that the US oil rig count fell by four to 642 in the first week of June, marking the 26th consecutive week of declines but a smaller decline than the drop of 13 a week earlier.

It added that the number of active oil rigs has fallen by around 60 per cent from an October high of 1,609. “At roughly this time one year earlier, there were 1,536 active oil rigs.

The report stated: “The total US rig count (onshore and offshore) declined by seven units to 868, also the 26th straight week of decline; gas rigs fell by three to 222. These are the efficient, producing wells that are closer to the break-even point and which have much longer lifelines to draw on.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in a drilling productivity report oil production from some of the more lucrative shale basins in the United States is expected to drop by a combined 92,000 barrels per day by July. While the Eagle Ford shale play in Texas is expected to show the largest drop in terms of volume, the Niobrara shale in Colorado declines the most in terms of per cent by July, federal data show.