Nigeria’s crude production statistics has revealed that the country recorded a shortfall of over half a million barrels oil production daily in 2013.
This average shortfall of about 530, 000 barrels per day was obtained by Bloomberg from records of daily production from the country compared with the 2.53 million barrels the federal government had predicted in the 2013 budget.
Nigeria, Africa’s biggest crude exporter depends largely on proceeds from crude to service over 85 per cent of its budget.
The country targeted, according to its financial plans for the year 2013, 2.53 million barrels per day production, a projection it failed to meet.
The Bloomberg’s survey, which blamed the foot-dragging on the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) for the inability to meet up with the production projection added that the bill will also take part in determining the success of the 2014 budget.
“Nigeria would not achieve a substantial increase in production until it passed the long-delayed Petroleum Industry Bill,” it said.
It stated that West Texas Intermediate crude for February delivery was currently trading at about $93 a barrel, compared with an oil price of $77.5 a barrel proposed in Nigeria’s 2014 budget.
Source: Bloomberg
