Oil Export Revenue Drops By N403bn — CBN

Nigeria earned N207.54bn from crude oil and gas export in the first half of this year, falling short of the Federal Government’s target of N661.38bn.

Oil constituted 61 per cent of the gross federally-collected revenue of N4.40tn in the period, while non-oil accounted for the balance of 39 per cent, according to a new economic report from the Central Bank of Nigeria.

It said at N2.69tn or 4.5 per cent of Gross Domestic Product, gross oil revenue fell below the proportionate budget estimate by 30.1 per cent, but rose above that of the first half of 2017 by 66.5 per cent.

The CBN said, “The drop in oil revenue, relative to the proportionate budget estimate, was attributed to the decline in the volume of production and exports during the period. Relative to the budgeted benchmark of 2.3 million barrels per day, crude oil production averaged 1.90 million bpd.

“In addition, crude oil exports dropped below the proportionate budget benchmark of N611.38bn by N403.84bn or 66.1 per cent.

The report said N282.72bn and N22.19bn from the gross oil revenue were utilised for joint venture cash calls and cost of collection by the Department of Petroleum Resources, respectively.

The nation’s crude oil output increased by 0.27 million bpd or 16.6 per cent in the first half of this year to an average daily production of 1.90 million bpd, compared to the output recorded in the same period last year.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian economy recorded a total foreign exchange inflow of $65.84bn between January and June this year, CBN statistics contained in the economic report have also revealed.

The apex bank said the inflow was recorded as a result of the continued stability in the foreign exchange market promoted by improved dollar liquidity.

This, according to the CBN, has been driving the exchange rates towards convergence at all segments of the market.

The $65.84bn, according to the apex bank, represents an increase of 87.9 per cent when compared to the inflow recorded in the first half of 2017.

The report stated that foreign exchange inflow through autonomous sources accounted for

$35.3bn as against $30.84bn and $19.01bn, respectively, in the second and first halves of 2017.

Foreign exchange inflow through the CBN amounted to $30.54bn, which is an increase of 16.4 per cent and 90.6 per cent, above the levels in the second and first halves of 2017.