Nigeria: Oil theft cuts output to new low

Oil theft looks set to push Nigeria off its spot as top African crude oil exporter in May and exports could fall to their lowest since records began in 2009, data indicated yesterday. Nigerian exports in May are set to be about 1.59 million barrels per day (bpd) excluding the Forcados and Ebok grades of crude oil, which had still not emerged. Exports are far below the highs above 2.2 million bpd reached in 2011 and the May figure is set to fall beneath the exports of Angola, which is usually Africa’s second-largest exporter. Angolan exports in May are set to be 1.67 million bpd. Forcados grade production was hit by underwater pipeline leakage due to oil theft. The problems with Forcados are the latest in a string of theft-related outages. Traders said it was likely there would be no exports of Forcados for May, although should the pipeline be fixed soon there could yet be a small volume of this grade, which could push shipments above Angolan levels. – Reuters