Oil Sector Growth Plummet By 26% In Q1 – NBS Report

The growth of the Nigerian oil sector plummeted in the first quarter of the year 2022 compared to records of the preceding year.

The National Bureau of Statistics revealed in its latest analysis that 26.04% (year-on-year) growth was recorded in the first quarter of 2022.

The reported figure is, however, a decrease of 23.83 per cent points relative to the rate recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2021, Naija News understands.

This is happening amid lamentations that Nigeria is no longer meeting production volume.

In a report titled “Nigeria Gross Domestic Product Q1 2022,” the NBS said growth decreased by 17.99 per cent points when compared to Q4 2021 which was –8.06 per cent. Quarter-on-Quarter, the oil sector recorded a growth rate of 9.11 per cent in Q1 2022.

The report highlighted that the oil sector contributed 6.63 per cent to the total real GDP in Q1 2022, down from the figures recorded in the corresponding period of 2021 and up compared to the preceding quarter, where it contributed 9.25 per cent and 5.19 per cent respectively.

Nigeria as contained in the NBS report recorded an average daily oil production of 1.49 million barrels per day (mbpd) in the first quarter of 2022.

This is lower than the daily average production of 1.72mbpd reported in the same quarter of 2021 by 0.23mbpd and lower than the fourth quarter of 2021 production volume of 1.50mbpd by 0.01mbpd, Naija News understands.

Meanwhile, a drop in daily production has raised further concern amid Nigeria’s inability to meet OPEC’s target of 1.772mbpd.

Last month, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria had called on the Federal Government to shore up efforts towards tackling incessant cases of oil theft that had played a contributory role in the decline of Nigeria’s oil production.

Conversely, the non-oil sector, according to the report, grew by 6.08 per cent in real terms during the reference quarter (Q1 2022). This rate was higher by 5.28% points compared to the rate recorded same quarter of 2021 and 1.34 per cent points higher than the fourth quarter of 2021.