The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, (OPEC) and its allies (OPEC+), on Wednesday jerked up Nigeria’s oil quota to 1.830 million barrels per day above the current 1.4 mb/day.
The new quota will take effect from September 2022, while 1.826 mb/d was approved for August 2022.
The announcement comes as prices of many crudes, including Nigeria’s Bonny Light, bounced back to over $100 per barrel in the global market.
Nigeria currently produces about 1.4 mb/d, including condensate. But experts had said it remains to be seen whether the country would be able to meet up with the production of this latest approved quota as increased pipeline vandalism, oil theft and illegal refining in the Niger Delta continues to roil the nation’s oil sector.
The increase was part of actions, targeted at achieving increased stability in the global oil market.
Analysts had suggested that OPEC+ was responding to months of diplomatic efforts from US President Joe Biden, with one of the smallest oil production increases in its history.
The cartel will add only 100,000 barrels a day of oil in September, giving a tight market extra supplies at a much slower pace than in recent months despite pressure from the White House to help cool prices.
The 23-nation alliance will divide that amount proportionally between members, and with only the Saudis and the United Arab Emirates able to bolster production, just a fraction of it is likely to be delivered.
For July and August, the group had pledged to add more than 600,000 barrels a day to the market.
