The country pumped 2.12 million barrels of oil per day (bpd) in the second quarter | By Eki Toju
Nigeria pumped 2.12 million barrels of oil per day (bpd) in the second quarter, an output that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said was below the 2.48 million bpd projected in the 2012 budget by the finance ministry.
In its second quarter review of the economy, published on its website on Monday, the CBN said oil production rose from an average of 2.06 million bpd in the first quarter.
It would be noted that official oil data are usually given by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). However, the CBN, the oil ministry and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) sometimes give output figures on ad hoc basis.
If the apex bank?s figure is correct, a lift in output in the second half of the year will be unavoidable, to fund all the spending in the budget without taking on more debt or lowering its oil savings rate.
The benchmark oil price in the budget was $72 a barrel, well below the market price and above which Nigeria is supposed to save extra revenues in the Excess Crude Account (ECA).
But if production fails to meet projections, the government will need to take more money back from the ECA to meet the shortfall.
