•Don’t expect significant improvement soon — Experts

By Udeme Akpan

Nigeria’s Condensate dropped, year-on-year, YoY, by six per cent to 224,040 barrels per day, bpd, in June 2024, from 238,488 bpd in the corresponding period of 2023.

Condensate, a liquid hydrocarbon remains important to Nigeria as it complements the nation’s crude oil output, especially as it attracts similar value and price in the international market.

But on a month-on-month, MoM basis, the Condensate rose marginally by 3.2 per cent to 224,040 bpd in June 2024, from 217,076 bpd in May 2024, based on the July 2024 report of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, NUPRC.

Before now, the report indicated that the nation’s Condensate rose marginally to 217,401 bpd in February 2024, from 217,097 bpd in January 2024, before dropping to 207,611 and 165,957 bpd in March and April 2024, respectively.

Experts said Nigeria’s Condensate would not likely record significant improvement in the second half of 2024, except the nation records similar improvement in its crude output as the two hydrocarbons are usually produced through the same process.

In an interview with Energy Vanguard, weekend, the National President, Oil and Gas Service Providers Association of Nigeria, OGSPAN, Mazi Colman Obasi, said: “We should not expect much improvement in the output of Condensate soon because it will not come in isolation. Condensate output will rise if Nigeria’s oil and gas output is rising. It will rise when we can increase our crude output.

“The production of Condensate will continue to be relevant to Nigeria’s economy because it forms part of the nation’s source of foreign exchange generation for budget implementation.

“For instance, Nigeria projects to produce 1.70 million bpd, including Condensate for the execution of the 2024 budget at $77.97 per barrel.”

Similarly, in a telephone interview with Energy Vanguard, a Port Harcourt-based energy analyst, Dr. Bala Zakka, said: “Nigeria should invest more in exploration and production of crude oil, including Condensate. We have not been able to invest more and produce more in the past few years.

“Adequate funding is very important, especially as the reality of Energy transition continues to affect the production of fossil fuel. From all indications, the International Oil Companies, IoCs, have much more capacity to attract funds from the global financiers than the indigenous companies and should be encouraged to invest more in Nigeria.”

On his part, the Managing Director of IBC Consultancy, Haddison Etchou, “Africa is a continent that holds massive opportunities for private investors. It has a young and growing population and abundant natural resources. Cities are seeing massive growth.

“Many countries have launched long-term industrialization and digitalization, Crude oil production in Africa is estimated at almost 10 million barrels per day, representing about 10% of global crude oil production. 

The continent has extensive natural resources, an increasingly educated workforce, and more stability in terms of governance, and prospects for economic growth than in the past. For new investors looking for investment opportunities, Africa is the place.

“Several African countries offer progressive sliding-scale profit share, royalty and tax relief, which enable faster cost recovery, a key issue for financiers.

“Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu has signaled a significant shift in fiscal and monetary policy to boost investment with a focus on the oil and gas industry.”