December oil output decreases to 1.52m bpd

… as Abuja, Lagos, Sokoto invested more on transportation in 2020

Chinazor Megbolu |The country’s crude and condensate output in December fell 9 per cent month on month to 1.52 million bpd, according to a data obtained from the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR).

The oil and gas industry regulator report noted, the decline was hit by production problems at key export grade Qua Iboe.

The DPR noted that crude production fell to 1.17 million bpd in December, 2020 from 1.33 million bpd in November 2020.

The report also hinted that condensate production, increased slightly with an average of 348,078 bpd in December 2020 from 339,920 in November, 2020.

However, the DPR report indicated that Qua Iboe have been on force majeure since mid-December 2020 after they were temporarily halted due to a fire at the Qua terminal.

The report further intimated that the nation’s biggest export grade and refiners globally, with Canada, India, Indonesia, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the US, being regular buyers averaged 49,946 bpd in December 2020 when compared with 159,225 bpd in November 2020.

Exports of Brass River were on force majeure from late November to mid-December 2020, the DPR report showed further, after a sabotage attack on an oil and gas pipelines.

Meanwhile, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has said that the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Lagos and Sokoto States invested more for road transportation in 2020.

The government agency disclosed this in its Transport Fare Watch Data for 2020 and stated that commuters in Lagos State paid an average of N3,073.41 for intercity bus travels in October, compared to N3,100 in November.

The report maintained that the above-mentioned shows a 0.86 per cent increase.

However, in Sokoto, NBS also noted that the State invested N3,055.12 for intercity bus tours in October 2020, compared to N3,100 in November, which shows a 1.46 per cent increase.

Meanwhile, operators in Abuja spent an average of N4,376.09 for intercity bus travels in October 2020, compared to N4,380.40 in November 2020, showing a 0.09 per cent increase.

The NBS in its November Transport report, said that States with the lowest bus travel fares within cities includes; Bayelsa State, which recorded N1,500.10; Enugu State with N1,597.10 and Bauchi State with N1,642.12