LONDON: Nigeria's crude oil exports are set to exceed 2 million barrels per day (bpd) in August, the highest level planned for 17 months, as the nation's oil industry nears a full recovery from militant attacks that crippled production in 2016.
Resurgent production, if sustained, will put further pressure on efforts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to trim output in support of oil prices.
Exports of 2.02 million bpd on 67 cargoes are scheduled so far in August, according to preliminary loading plans compiled by Reuters, with an additional 97,000 bpd of Akpo condensate.
The plan is the highest since March 2016, which was scheduled at roughly the same level until a militant attack on the Trans Forcados Pipeline shut down Forcados exports in February of that year.
Forcados loadings resumed in late May, and operator Royal Dutch Shell lifted force majeure on the grade early this month. While Bonny Light, also operated by Shell, is now under force majeure due to a pipeline leak on one of its two export lines, the grade is still flowing with loading delays of roughly 10 days, traders said.
The August plan compared with 1.84 million bpd initially planned for July, but loading delays on Bonga, Bonny Light and Qua Iboe pushed several of the July cargoes into August.
While early 2016 exports were set at 2 million bpd, Nigeria's oil production has not hit that level since October 2015, according to Reuters data. Theft from the nation's oil pipelines in the Delta region leads to frequent shutdowns, limiting output, and militant attacks throughout 2016 hobbled the entire oil industry.
The increase comes as Libyan oil production is also rebounding, hitting 885,000 bpd this week and targeting 1 million bpd by July.
Libya and Nigeria were both exempt from OPEC-organised production cuts with non-member nations of 1.8 million bpd, and their resurgence has added to a glut of light sweet crude in the Atlantic Basin that is holding benchmark oil prices near seven-month lows.
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