Nigeria's earnings from crude oil and gas and its Petroleum Profit Tax and Royalties saw a decline of 34.1 percent for the first quarter of this year, according to data released from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
In the bank's Economic Report for the First Quarter of 2016, the nation earned N396.47 billion (currently US$1.4 billion), as opposed to N601.52 billion (US$2.15 billion) in the last quarter of 2015.
The CBN report said that the drop in receipts from oil and gas exports contributed to the decline in oil revenue. The decrease in exports was due to the drop in oil prices internationally, and the "shut-ins and shut downs" at some NNPC terminals due to vandalism.
The report also stated that the country's crude production, which includes condensates and natural gas liquids, was at 1.82 million barrels per day for the first quarter of this year.
On a related note, the country's currency, the naira, took a 40 percent hit against the dollar on Monday. The dip indicates that Nigeria is feeling the effects that low oil prices are having on countries that produce crude oil. The losses in the naira came on the first day of trading since the central bank ended its currency peg to the U.S. currency, according to the Wall Street Journal.
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Low oil prices convinced the government that it could no longer continue to spend the amount of money needed to retain the fixed-rate currency policy that has been in place for several years.
Adding to the problems for Nigeria are the attacks by militants on its oil facilities. The government announced on Tuesday a one-month cease fire with the Niger Delta Avengers.
Groups such as the Avengers say that they want a greater share of the money from the oil industry to go to the people in the Niger River Delta. Production has reportedly been brought to a 30-year low by the attacks.
By Lincoln Brown for Oilprice.com
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