African countries export 5.6 million barrels of oil per day while importing 2.3 million barrels
Africa’s leading oil producers and exporting countries, depend heavily on the natural resource for their foreign exchange earnings. Nigeria and Angola for instance, earn around 70 to 75 per cent of their export revenue from oil.
Oil exports
Available data shows that by 2021, the export volume of crude oil from Africa was roughly 5.62 million barrels per day, which was a decrease compared to the year before.
About a decade ago, in 2010 for instance, some eight million barrels of oil were exported daily from the continent.
In 2021, Nigeria topped oil exports from the continent, exporting almost 1.6 million barrels of oil per day, followed by Libya and Angola that exported some 1.1 million barrels each.
All African countries put together exported approximately 5.6 million barrels per day in the same year.
Oil imports
African countries on the other hand imported overall more than 2.32 million barrels of oil per day in 2021. The highest importer is also the highest exporter, Nigeria which imported almost 488,000 barrels per day, followed by Morocco, which imported 250,000 per day.
Oil production
Some 20 countries in Africa produce oil, but only two, Libya and Algeria do not import crude oil.
In 2021, Statista estimated crude oil reserves in Africa at 124.3 billion barrels. Libya held 48.4 billion barrels, followed by Nigeria with 36.9 billion barrels.
However, Nigeria was the leading oil producer on the continent. Nigeria produced roughly 78 million metric tons; followed by Libya, Algeria, and Angola, each with an output above 50 million metric tons.
According to Statista, in the same year, the overall production of oil in Africa, including crude oil, shale oil, oil sands, and NGLs, reached 345 million metric tons, 4.5 per cent more than in 2020.
By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi
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