In May, Nigeria’s crude oil production exceeded its quota under the output cut pact of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its non-member oil producer allies (OPEC+).
State-owned oil company NNPC data showed that Nigeria produced 1.61 million bpd of crude last month, a full 200,000 bpd exceeding its May-June quota of 1.41 million bpd.
The country’s oil ministry argued that the country’s output was still 216,000 bpd under the 1.83 million bpd production baseline of October 2018. Nigeria’s notional compliance of the pact is at 52% and the ministry said that the level would translate to full compliance by the end of June 2020.
The figures for both May and current June output do not include Agbami and Akpo, which the government classifies as condensate.
Meanwhile, an OPEC delegate has told a media that there would be no “free ride” for non-compliant countries as the OPEC+ is now considering extending the cut pact by one more month to the end of July.