Accruable revenues by the Federal Government on crude oil refining have plummeted by N10.62 billion in one year. The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), which disclosed this, noted that the refining revenues fell to N81.93 billion in third quarter of 2015, compared to N92.55 billion recorded in the third quarter of 2014.
Also, the bureau explained that the contribution from the crude petroleum and natural gas sub-sector represented 10.27 per cent of the country’s total real Gross Domestic Product (GDP), an improvement on the N1.614 trillion recorded in Q2 2014. It attributed the improved contribution from the sector to a significant rise in crude oil production in the period under review.
Based on the report, oil production was marginally higher in the corresponding quarter of 2014 by 0.02 million barrels per day (mbpd) when output was recorded at 2.15 mbpd, while preliminary data on oil production reflected output of 2.17 mbpd up from production in Q2 2015 by 0.17 mbpd.
In total, the oil and gas sector, according to a data released by NBS, contributed N1.942 trillion to GDP in the third quarter Q3 of 2015. Giving a breakdown, the bureau said that the crude petroleum and natural gas sub-sector accounted for N1.845 trillion, rising from N1.614 trillion in Q2 2015, and also an improvement when compared to N1.826 trillion recorded in 2014.
The contribution of the oil and gas sector to the county’s GDP in Q3 2015, the report further said, also reflected an increase of 1.06, year-on-year, higher by 4.65 per cent points from the corresponding quarter of 2014 and higher than Q2 when growth declined by 6.79 per cent.
