Oil Producing States in Nigeria & Barrels per Day, History and Refineries in Nigeria

This article extensively covers the top oil producing states in Nigeria and the number of barrels they produce. It goes ahead to highlight the history of crude oil in Nigeria, the refineries, and the top oil companies in Nigeria.

Let’s get right to it.


Introduction to Nigeria and Crude Oil.

Nigeria is the most populous black nation in the world. It also ranks as one of the largest nations in Africa. Aside from the military might, Nigeria is home to many natural resources, including crude oil.

Even as the country is walking towards an exit from a mono-product economy, it is fact that the bulk of the nation’s revenue is generated from crude oil.

It’s worthy to note that Nigeria is a member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), with her membership dating back to 1971. Besides being the highest crude oil-producing country in Africa, Nigeria is at the moment the 15th oil-producing country in the world behind Qatar and above Angola, according to Trading Economics.

History of Crude Oil in Nigeria

The oil and gas industry in Nigeria goes as far back as 1908. As at the time, a German business outfit, Nigerian Bitumen Corporation, started their oil exploration activities within an area called Araromi, in Ondo State, Nigeria.

The company’s activities progressed until there was an interruption in 1914 due to the First World War. The company exited afterward.

Years after, in 1937, oil exploration in Nigeria resumed.

This was after the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (Shell D’Arcy) got the sole concessionary coverage of the entire territory. Their exploratory activities suddenly halted because of the Second World War.

The company resumed her exploration activities in 1947 and reinforced its effort by investing over 30 million Naira. This investment and its utilization led to the first discovery of oil in commercial quantity in Nigeria, in a place called Oloibiri, in the year 1956.

Thus, it’s safe to say that;
Crude oil was discovered in Nigeria in 1956 in a place called Oloibiri, in the present-day Bayelsa State, one of the south south states in Nigeria.

This discovery of crude oil in Nigeria for commercial purposes, industrialized the Nigerian oil industry in 1961. It was during this time that oil companies such as Agip, Mobil, Safrap (Elf), Tenneco (Texaco), and Amoseas (Chevron) started operation in Nigeria.

There was a massive onshore and offshore exploration in the country, and the sole concessionary right earlier given to Shell was withdrawn and extended to these other companies.

Crude Oil production from Oloibiri, Bayelsa State, started at the rate of 5,100 barrels per day, in 1958.

This quantity doubled within the following years, growing to the rate of 2 million barrels per day in 1972. By this time, more companies had joined in the exploration following the discovery of oil in Nigeria.

Nigeria was in that year ranked the 7th highest oil producing country in the world.

Production kept increasing until the country started producing up to 2.40 million barrels per day in 1979.

The data reached an all-time high of 2,496.000 Barrel/Day in Nov 2005 and a record low of 1,419.000 Barrel/Day in Aug 2016, according to CEIC Data.

With the history and discovery of oil in Nigeria covered, let’s look at the top oil producing states in Nigeria and how many oil barrels they produce per day.

Oil Producing States in Nigeria 2020

According to Global Edge, as of 2018, Nigeria’s oil production was about 2,057492 thousand bbl/day, while the oil consumption in 2017 was about 429 thousand bbl/day.

Furthermore, the oil sector provides for 95% of Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings and 80% of its budgetary revenues.

Reinforcing the oil and gas industry statistics, based on current CEIC reports, Nigeria, in 2019, had an average production of 2.10 million barrels per day.

In July 2020, the country recorded the production of 1,488,000 barrels per day. This was a 9,000 bpd decrease from the 1,497,000 barrels per day produced in June 2020.

Of course, Nigeria’s maximum daily production capacity still stands at over 2.5 million barrels, and the daily consumption of Oil in Nigeria stands at over 430,000 barrels per day as of 2020.

The statistics show that Nigeria is actively producing and exporting crude oil. It’s crucial to point out the frontier oil producing states in Nigeria and the barrels they produce per day.

Although many states have oil reserves, below are the top nine oil producing states in Nigeria and their barrels per day:

Top Nine Oil Producing States in Nigeria 2020 and their Barrels per day.

1. Akwa Ibom State

Akwa Ibom State is one of the highest oil producing states in the country. The state is located within South-South Nigeria – the Niger Delta area. It is home to about three Nigerian popular ethnic groups – Annang, Ibibio, and Oron. The population of Akwa Ibom State hit six million as of 2018, spreading across thirty-one (31) Local Government Areas.

Akwa Ibom State is the largest oil producing state in Nigeria after it overtook Rivers and Delta States recently. The state produces around 504,000 barrels per day (BPD) and accounts for about 31.4% of the total daily oil production in Nigeria.

The state also has mineral resources like coal, limestone, clay, and glass sand.

All these contribute to the state being on the list of the richest state in Nigeria.
https://informationtoknow.com/the-richest-state-in-nigeria/

2. Delta State

Continue reading the article here: https://informationtoknow.com/oil-producing-states-nigeria-barrels-per-day-history-refineries/

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