By Charles Ebi
Value of Nigeria’s crude oil export earnings increased by 50.2% in the first quarter of 2024 to N15.4 trillion, according to data from the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics ,NBS.
The earnings quoted in naira showed a rise from N10.3 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2023 to N15.4 trillion in Q1 2024.
During the same period, the data highlighted that 88% of Nigeria’s exports to other nations were earnings from crude oil, emphasizing once again the predominant role of oil as the primary exported commodity and main source of foreign exchange for the country.
The total exports of Nigeria in the first quarter of 2024 rose by 51% to N19.1 trillion compared to N12.6 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2023. On a year-to-year basis, the total export increased by 95.47% from N6.4 trillion.
The oil sector, the major contributor to Nigeria’s total exports, made up 88% of the total exports.
Crude oil exports were valued at N15.4 trillion while non-crude oil exports were valued at N3.6 trillion.
However, the non-oil commodities were valued at N1.7 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2024.
The data also showed a slight improvement in the Naira value of the total non-oil export from N1.09 trillion in Q4 2023 to N1.7 trillion in Q1, 2024.
A critical factor that also drove the increase in crude oil exports was the depreciation of the naira in early 2024.
In Nigeria, the official exchange rate depreciated to N1,309/$1 in March, marking a 64% depreciation in 2024.
Meanwhile, crude oil output from Nigeria has not seen significant growth since the year began. According to OPEC data from March 2024, Nigeria’s crude oil output stood at 1.23 million barrels per day (bpd).
Moreover, the price of crude oil has remained relatively stable, hovering between $79 and $81 throughout the captured period.
Therefore, despite the lack of substantial growth in Nigeria’s crude oil output, the currency gains resulting from the naira devaluation may have contributed to increased earnings from oil exports in the first quarter of 2024.
Crude oil production in Nigeria has increased marginally in the last year but has failed to reach the high of 2 million barrels produced around 2019.
Factors responsible for this include; insecurity and oil theft in the Niger Delta, low investment in oil exploration, and maturing oil fields amongst others.
In 2024, the federal government estimated a total of 1.78 million barrels of crude oil per day.
However, the country has yet to meet its OPEC quota of 1.5 million bpd, producing in the range of 1.2 million bpd since the beginning of the year.
Meanwhile, in March, President Tinubu signed a raft of executive orders meant to attract investment into the oil and gas industry to boost production. Furthermore, the President has mandated security agencies to bring an end to the spate of oil theft in the Niger Delta region.
Also, the President mandated the relevant agencies to fast-track the approval of divestment plans by oil majors which has stalled investment in exploration and new production fields.
