In a surprising turn of events, Libya has overtaken Nigeria as the largest producer of crude oil in Africa, as reported by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in their monthly March oil report. Libya’s production averaged 1.236 million barrels per day, edging out Nigeria’s production of 1.23 million barrels per day by a mere 5,000 barrels.

Nigeria experienced a significant drop in crude oil production in March, with a decrease of 92,000 barrels per day from February’s production of 1.32 million barrels. According to secondary sources, OPEC reported Nigeria’s crude oil production for March at 1.39 million barrels per day, a decline of 38,000 barrels from the previous month.

This decrease in production has brought Nigeria’s crude oil production to its lowest point this year, falling below the benchmark production of 1.78 million barrels per day set in the 2024 budget. Despite this, Saudi Arabia maintained its position as the top oil producer among OPEC member countries, with an average daily production of 8.97 million barrels per day.

The OPEC Reference Basket (ORB) saw a significant increase in value in March, rising by $2.99 to reach an average of $84.22 per barrel. This increase also reflected in oil futures prices, with ICE Brent and NYMEX WTI contracts both experiencing gains.

Following OPEC’s decision to keep production quotas unchanged, oil prices surged to around $90 per barrel for Brent crude. Nigeria’s Bonny light crude also saw an increase in price, reaching $87.86 per barrel in March compared to $85.65 in February.

Overall, these developments in the oil market highlight the ever-changing dynamics of the industry and the impact of global events on oil production and prices. As Libya takes the lead in oil production in Africa, it will be interesting to see how this shift influences the market in the coming months.