Business
Nigeria Records $2.5bn loss in July as Oil Production Falls to 1.083m bpd
Nigeria Records $2.5bn loss in July as Oil Production Falls to 1.083m bpd
The expectation that Nigeria’s current dollar crunch could subside soon has again been dashed as the country’s crude oil production remained below expectation, slumping to 1.083 million barrels per day in July.
July’s production figure, sourced from the data released by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), followed the trend in the country’s abysmally low drilling capacity in at least the last 10 months.
For the month under review, however, the country’s production allocation by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) was roughly 1.8 million (1.799) barrels per day.
This means that Nigeria could not produce as much as 717,000 bpd or 22.22 million barrels during July. When valued at a conservative price of $110 per barrel, the 22.22 million barrels were about $2.444 billion for the month.
While the rest of the oil-producing world and oil majors continue to enjoy high oil prices, Nigeria’s case has been different.
Though the country currently needs every dollar it can get, as pressure on the economy, due to the near non-availability of the greenback continues to mount, the slump in oil production has dashed this hope.
For months, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has not been able to remit a kobo to the federation account.
The company blamed the extant subsidy payment regime as well as the massive ongoing oil theft in the Niger Delta.
In addition, Nigeria has fingered years of declining upstream investment, inability to restart oil wells shut in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 as well as outright sabotage by oil-producing communities for its lack of capacity to raise production.
If there’s no improvement by September, the production deficit is likely to get worse, since OPEC and its allies agreed to an increase in oil production this month, following calls by the United States and other major consumers for more supply.
In the latest round of distribution of quotas, Nigeria got a modest 4,000 bpd increase, raising its production quota to 1.830 million bpd for September as opposed to the 1.826 million bpd output it got for August and 1.8 million bpd in July.
Nigeria only managed to hit just 1.158 million bpd in the June assessment after it fell to a record low of 1.024 million bpd in the previous month of May.
In the 2022 budget, the federal government pegged the crude oil benchmark at $73 bpd with the projected oil production put at 1.88 million bpd
A recent review indicated that Nigeria produced less crude oil in the first six months of this year compared with the same period in 2020 and 2021.
It showed that Nigeria’s total of 220.016 million barrels of oil drilled in 2022, is less than the 302.4 million in 2020. That’s roughly a 27.15 per cent decrease.
The NUPRC data further showed that in the first six months of 2021, when the world had started recovering from the pandemic, Nigeria also surpassed this year’s six-month drilling total for the same period by 28.6 million barrels.
Specifically, while the country managed to produce 302.4 million barrels in 2020, it drilled 248.6 million barrels in the same period in 2021, but it quickly degenerated to 220.016 million barrels from January to June this year. That is an 11.29 per cent change between 2021 and 2022.
Of the country’s recorded 35 terminals/streams, the NUPRC data showed that Ajapa, Ima and Anambra Basin remain non-producing, while Tulja-Okwuibome started producing in 2022, after a period of dormancy in 2020 and 2021.
The new low production became worse in May when 1.024 million bpd was recorded. In June, it was 1.158 million bpd, according to self-reported data by the government, however, it has fallen again to 1.083 million bpd in July, far from the projection for the period. It was also markedly lower than the production for April, which stood at 1.219 million bpd.
Similarly, Nigeria produced 1.398 million bpd in January, 1.257 million bpd in February and 1.237 in March, according to the NUPRC data.
But despite the huge gulf between expected and actual production, the Minister of State, Petroleum, Mr Timipre Sylva, had recently said the gap would be filled by this August.
Sylva’s comment came after similar assurances by the Group Chief Executive Officer, NNPCL, Mallam Mele Kyari, that the country would drill enough oil to cover the deficit by December last year.
Business
Forging a Continental Future: Nigeria and South Africa Unite to Unlock Africa’s Mineral Wealth
Forging a Continental Future: Nigeria and South Africa Unite to Unlock Africa’s Mineral Wealth
By George O. Sylvester, Reporting from South Africa
CAPE TOWN, April 17, 2025 – In a landmark move aimed at reshaping Africa’s economic future, Nigeria and South Africa signed a historic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate in the solid minerals sector. The agreement, reached during the 11th session of the Nigeria-South Africa Bi-National Commission (BNC), represents a strategic alliance focused on harnessing Africa’s vast mineral wealth for mutual benefit and sustainable development.
The deal marks a bold shift towards intra-African cooperation, at a time when global competition for mineral resources—especially critical minerals for green technologies—is intensifying. With the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) now operational, this bilateral partnership lays the groundwork for a new continental approach to resource governance and economic diversification.
A Tale of Two Giants
Nigeria, long regarded as a mono-economy reliant on oil (which accounts for over 85% of its export revenue), has begun to prioritize the mining sector as a vehicle for economic diversification. According to the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), the country’s solid minerals sector contributed a mere 0.63% to GDP as of 2022, despite holding an estimated $700 billion in untapped mineral reserves including gold, lithium, columbite, iron ore, and uranium.
In contrast, South Africa’s mining sector, which contributed approximately 7.5% to GDP in 2023 (StatsSA), is globally renowned for its depth, technological sophistication, and regulatory framework. With over 100 years of mining history, it boasts world-class infrastructure and expertise in areas such as deep-level mining, beneficiation, and environmental management.
The union of Nigeria’s raw potential and South Africa’s technical prowess could become a game-changer—not just for both economies but for Africa’s collective push toward industrialization and self-reliance.
Key Components of the MoU
1. Joint Geological Mapping
Using satellite imaging, geospatial technologies, and AI-powered mineral detection tools, both countries will collaborate on large-scale geological surveys. This effort is critical in Nigeria, where over 80% of the land remains geologically underexplored, according to the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency (NGSA).
2. Data Exchange and Transparency
A core pillar of the agreement is real-time data exchange between the NGSA and South Africa’s Council for Geoscience. This will enhance transparency, reduce investor risk, and improve planning. By adopting South Africa’s data management frameworks, Nigeria aims to move toward international best practices in resource classification and public disclosure.
3. Capacity Building and Technology Transfer
To reduce Nigeria’s dependence on foreign consultants, South Africa will assist in training geologists, metallurgists, and mining engineers through academic exchanges, short courses, and certification programs. Nigerian professionals will also be trained in advanced techniques such as Elemental Fingerprint Technology, which determines mineral origin—crucial for combatting illegal mining and smuggling.
4. Exploration of Agro and Energy Minerals
The MoU includes joint ventures in exploring agro-minerals like phosphate and potash (needed for local fertilizer production) and energy minerals like lithium and cobalt—essential components of electric vehicle batteries and clean energy storage systems. Nigeria’s nascent lithium reserves in Nasarawa and Ekiti states could prove critical as the world pivots toward decarbonization.
Economic Potential
According to PwC’s Nigeria Mining Sector Report, the solid minerals industry could contribute up to $27 billion annually to Nigeria’s GDP by 2030, if adequately developed. This partnership is expected to catalyze investment and attract global mining companies previously hesitant about Nigeria’s regulatory unpredictability.
Already, projections suggest the MoU could generate over $500 million in direct foreign investment during the first phase. Furthermore, the Nigerian Ministry of Solid Minerals forecasts the creation of 3 million jobs across the mining value chain—ranging from exploration and extraction to logistics and beneficiation.
For South Africa, this is a strategic economic expansion. With its traditional mining output slowing due to resource depletion and labor unrest, South Africa is seeking new avenues for growth. By investing in West Africa, it not only expands its mining footprint but deepens its diplomatic influence and commercial engagement with Africa’s largest economy.
Institutional Support and Structural Reforms
Nigeria’s reforms have not gone unnoticed. The introduction of the Electronic Mining Cadastral System (EMC+) has streamlined licensing and reduced corruption, enabling a transparent “first come, first served” process. In 2024 alone, over 1,500 mineral titles were processed electronically—a significant improvement from previous years marred by bureaucracy.
Moreover, the Nigeria Minerals Decision Support System (NMDSS) has made investor-relevant data—such as infrastructure availability, environmental regulations, and geoscience—accessible through a centralized portal. These tools are modeled after global standards, including Australia’s Geoscience Portal and South Africa’s SAMREC Code.
Diplomatic and Regional Impact
This partnership is more than a commercial endeavor; it is a diplomatic signal. Both countries, which combined account for over 30% of Africa’s GDP and nearly 300 million people, are demonstrating leadership in Pan-Africanism. The agreement comes at a time when Africa must assert control over its mineral wealth, especially with rising concerns over neocolonial extraction by foreign powers.
As Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the WTO, noted in 2024:
“Africa cannot be the source of raw materials for global value chains without being part of those chains.”
The Nigeria-South Africa MoU embodies this vision. By focusing on value addition, local content development, and environmental sustainability, the partnership seeks to reverse the continent’s historical pattern of extractive exploitation.
A New African Vision
Underpinning this alliance is a deeper aspiration: a unified African response to global economic challenges. With AfCFTA aiming to boost intra-African trade by over 50% by 2030 (UNECA estimates), resource-rich countries must lead the charge. If this mining collaboration succeeds, it could set a precedent for other sectors—agriculture, energy, technology—where African synergies remain largely untapped.
It is also a message to African youth, millions of whom face unemployment despite living in the most resource-endowed continent on Earth. The partnership can create meaningful employment while fostering innovation, entrepreneurship, and skills development.
Conclusion
The Nigeria-South Africa mining partnership is not just a bilateral deal—it is a continental statement. It reflects a long-overdue shift in how African nations view their resources, their allies, and their future. By choosing cooperation over competition and value creation over mere extraction, both countries are redefining what African leadership means in the 21st century.
This agreement could well be remembered as a turning point—when two of Africa’s most influential nations chose not only to collaborate but to lead.
As the late Kofi Annan once said:
“Resources are not curses. Mismanagement is.”
This partnership offers Africa a rare opportunity to get it right.
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