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Nigeria pumped 2.12 million bpd in Q2 -CBN

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), on Monday, said the country pumped 2.12 million barrels of oil per day (bpd) in the second quarter, well below … Continue reading Nigeria pumped 2.12 million bpd in Q2 -CBN


Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), on Monday, said the country pumped 2.12 million barrels of oil per day (bpd) in the second quarter, well below the 2.48 million bpd which the finance ministry projected in the 2012 budget.

The CBN, in its second quarter review of the economy, published on its website, said oil production had risen from an average of 2.06 million bpd in the first quarter.

Official oil figures normally come from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), but the CBN, the oil ministry and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) sometimes give output figures on ad hoc basis.

If the apex bank’s figure is correct, a lift in output in the second half of the year will be unavoidable, to fund all the spending in the budget without taking on more debt or lowering its oil savings rate.

The benchmark oil price in the budget was $72 a barrel, well below the market price and above which Nigeria is supposed to save extra revenues in the Excess Crude Account (ECA).

But if production fails to meet projections, the government will need to take more money back from the ECA to meet the shortfall.

Finance Minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, told a foreign news agency last month that the ministry lowered the production projections given by the oil ministry.