Slick Operation

OPEC+ production cuts raise stakes for Nigeria in fight against oil theft

By David Whitehouse

Reserved for subscribers

Posted on April 13, 2023 04:00

© Members of the task force on illegal crude oil bunkering and artisanal refinery stand close to a distillation tank during the destruction of Bakana ii illegal artisanal camp in Okrika, Rivers state, Nigeria January 28, 2022. REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde — Members of the task force on illegal crude oil bunkering and artisanal refinery stand close to a distillation tank during the destruction of Bakana ii illegal artisanal camp in Okrika, Rivers state, Nigeria January 28, 2022. REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde

Nigeria needs to step up the struggle against oil theft to take full advantage of surprise production cuts by OPEC+, analysts say.

OPEC+ said at the start of April that it will cut production by more than 1% of global supply, with Saudi Arabia, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates bearing the brunt. Nigeria remains below its OPEC quota of 1.8 million bpd, even after a rise in output to 1.6 million barrels per day (bdp) in March, raising the prospect of increased revenue from higher prices.

There's more to this story

Get unlimited access to our exclusive journalism and features today. Our award-winning team of correspondents and editors report from over 54 African countries, from Cape Town to Cairo, from Abidjan to Abuja to Addis Ababa. Africa. Unlocked.

Subscribe Now

cancel anytime

Already a a subscriber Sign In

More Business

Akinwumi Adesina, president of the African Development Bank, in Paris on 10 November 2021. © Damien Grenon for JA

leverage accelerator

AfDB tackles climate change at annual meeting in Sharm al-Sheikh More than 4,000 people have travelled to Egypt to attend the 58th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the African Development Bank (AfDB) and ...

© Eskom technicians perform maintenance in Villiers, South Africa, on May 10, 2023. (Shiraaz MOHAMED / AFP)

Electric shock

South Africa prepares for the worst in load shedding It only took one statement to bring South Africa’s Eskom shares into the red. On Thursday, 18 May, Calib Cassim, acting CEO of the publicly-run nation...

© The International Monetary Fund (IMF) headquarters building in Washington, U.S., April 8, 2019. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas

money matters

African Debt: Three proposals to reform the SDR system Hanan Morsy, Deputy Executive Secretary and Chief Economist of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), shares insights on new proposa...

© Tanger Alliance’s TC3 Terminal at Tanger Med

undeniable asset

Morocco: New phase of development to boost economic growth The recent slowdown of economic growth in Morocco has spurred a change of tack by the government – which means a pivot towards courting the private se...