Nigeria produced 450.17 million barrels of crude oil and condensate between January and September 2026, a decline of 7.48 million barrels from the 457.65 million barrels obtained during the same period last year.
The 1.63 per cent annual drop occurred despite a rebound in September output, underscoring the difficulty of sustaining production growth. This comes even as Nigeria has met its Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries crude oil production quota for five consecutive months.
Data from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission showed that daily average production of crude oil and condensate rose by 2.34 per cent to 1.717 million barrels per day in September from the previous month’s level.
The September performance also saw daily production peak at 1.84 million barrels, while the lowest daily output was 1.68 million barrels.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Head of Media and Corporate Communications at the NUPRC, Eniola Akinkuotu, said Nigeria produced an average of 1.53 million barrels of crude oil per day in September, excluding condensates.
The figure was 102 per cent of the country’s OPEC crude oil production quota of 1.5 million barrels per day, marking the fifth consecutive month that Nigeria met or exceeded its assigned target.
The commission said, “In strict crude oil terms (excluding condensate), Nigeria produced an average of 1.53mobpd in the month under review. This constitutes 102 per cent of the 1.5mobpd set by OPEC.”
The sustained performance followed average crude oil production of 1.53 million barrels per day in May, 1.55 million in June, 1.51 million in July and 1.50 million in August.
The NUPRC attributed the improved output to more stable operations across producing assets and the absence of major pipeline outages during the month.
It said, “The improved performance was primarily driven by stable production operations across most producing assets and the absence of any major pipeline outages during the period under review. This enhanced operational stability supported improved production uptime and crude evacuation efficiency.”
The commission added that the September figures reflected efforts by operators and industry stakeholders to improve operational efficiency and maintain the reliability of oil production infrastructure.
“The sustained growth recorded in September reflects the continued commitment of operators and industry stakeholders towards improving operational efficiency, maintaining asset integrity, and enhancing production reliability across the Nigerian upstream petroleum sector,” it said.