Nigeria says oil output reached six-year high in June

Nigeria's crude oil production reached a 74-month high in June, authorities said, averaging 1.56 million barrels per day. The Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission said the figure was 104 percent of the country's OPEC quota.

The commission said late Sunday that the improved output was mainly due to stable production at most producing assets and the absence of major pipeline outages during the period reviewed. Including condensates, Nigeria's oil production averaged 1.74 million barrels per day in June, the regulator said.

Nigeria, Africa's largest oil producer, has raised production in recent years partly by cracking down on theft and by hiring former militants who had sabotaged pipelines to work as security personnel. The country's oil production has historically been affected by pipeline theft and allegations of state corruption and mismanagement.

Foreign oil majors, which have faced pollution scandals in the Niger Delta, have left many onshore projects to focus on offshore extraction, while local companies have stepped in. The government has a target of two million barrels per day. The June crude production figure was the highest recorded since April 2020.