Central Bank Of Nigeria - Nation's Crude Production Down From 2.53 Mbd to 2.23 Mbd 2005 - 2006

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Aggregate crude oil production declined from an average of 2.53 million barrels per day in 2005 to 2.23 million barrels per day (mbd) in 2006, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said. The 2006 Annual Report of the bank, a copy of which was made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Wednesday, attributed the decline to the persistent disruption of oil operations especially the major Joint Venture Companies in the Niger Delta Region.

It said that some new oil wells which started production and are contributing about 265,000 barrels of crude oil per day, moderated the losses from the supply disruptions in the Niger Delta region. "Aggregate export of crude oil, therefore, averaged 1.80 mbd compared with 2.08 mbd in 2005. The average spot price of Nigeria’s reference crude, the Bonny Light, increased from $55.34 in 2005 to an average of $66.46 per barrel in 2006

The apex bank also reported that the manufacturing output declined by 1.5 per cent below the level in the previous year while the average capacity utilisation rate fell from 54.8 per cent in 2005 to 53.3 per cent in 2006.

It attributed the poor performance of the sector during the period to worsening power supply situation in the country, which it said, further increased the cost of production, coupled with the influx of cheaper and sometimes sub-standard goods into the country.

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