Nigeria’s oil output was at the lowest since 1990 as its crude oil production fell below 1 million barrels per day (bpd) in August 2022. And data from the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries in early September showed that Angola and Libya have overtaken Nigeria as Africa’s highest crude oil producers. The Conversation Africa’s Wale Fatade asked Omowumi Iledare, professor emeritus in petroleum economics and policy research to explain what’s happening. What are the drivers of the decline in oil production? Production has been declining since 2012 . It’s a combination of a lot of factors. I think insecurity of assets is top on the list – and insecurity of life. Secondly, the maturity of the fields. Thirdly, moving away from onshore to deep water. There is also a declining capacity to produce from a technical production point of view and from a market production point of view […]