(Ecofin Agency) - Angola has maintained its position as Africa’s top producer for four months as militants continue their attacks on oil installations in Nigeria, thereby weakening crude oil production.

According to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), this is expected to continue until militant activities stops in Nigeria.

OPEC revealed that Angola’s production increased by about 4,000 barrels per day from May to June 2016 while oil production increased by 98,000 barrels per day in Nigeria, but attacks by militant in the Niger Delta region have continued to weigh on oil production.In the 14-member cartel’s latest monthly report, Angola’s production for June was at 1.773 million barrels per day, while Nigeria struggled with only 1.523 million barrels per day, Macauhub reports.

The fall in Canada and Nigeria’s production made OPEC’s basket price of crude increase by 40%, its largest quarterly achievement.“The value of the OPEC Reference Basket (ORB) was up 6% in June for the fifth month in a row, despite pressure from falling commodity prices after Britain’s vote to exit the European Union. It also soared by more than 40% in the 2Q16, its largest increase ever, as firming global demand and unplanned production cuts from Canada to Nigeria eased the glut that had originally prompted the worst price rout in years. The uptick in crude prices also came amid continued unrest in Nigeria, and the latest data on China’s trade dynamics, which showed stabilizing exports in May,” OPEC said.

Anita Fatunji