Nigeria’s Oil Output Dips Again as OPEC Members Ramp Up Production

Nigeria’s crude oil production slipped further in August 2026, marking a second consecutive monthly decline even as other OPEC producers pushed output higher.

Figures from OPEC’s September 2026 Monthly Oil Market Report, compiled from data submitted directly by member countries, showed Nigeria pumped 1.50 million barrels per day (mbpd) in August, down from 1.505mbpd in July. The dip followed a steeper fall between June and July, when output dropped by 50,000bpd from 1.555mbpd to 1.505mbpd.

Taken together, Nigeria has shed a combined 55,000bpd in production over the three-month stretch from June to August.

The country nonetheless stayed within its OPEC-assigned quota for the month, continuing a run of compliance even as actual barrels pumped trended lower. Output has swung between roughly 1.45mbpd and 1.56mbpd since January, underscoring how difficult it has been for Nigeria to hold gains once made.

OPEC’s secondary sources — independent estimates rather than country-reported figures — put Nigeria’s August production at 1.57mbpd, a 35,000bpd increase from July’s 1.54mbpd, itself a rebound from a 46,000bpd drop in June. The gap between the two figures illustrates the long-standing measurement divide between what Abuja reports and what outside trackers estimate.

Nigeria’s decline stood out because it ran counter to the broader trend within the Declaration of Cooperation (DoC) bloc, where combined output rose by roughly 300,000bpd to 38.05mbpd in August. OPEC members alone added about 346,000bpd, lifting the group’s production to 24.08mbpd, even as non-OPEC DoC countries shed 49,000bpd.

Iraq led the gains, with secondary sources showing an increase of 664,000bpd to 3.38mbpd — a jump Baghdad’s own reported figures put even higher, at 845,000bpd. Kuwait, the UAE and Venezuela also posted increases, offsetting pullbacks from Iran (down 399,000bpd), Russia (down 160,000bpd) and Saudi Arabia (down 75,000bpd), according to secondary-source estimates.

While Nigeria’s 5,000bpd slide was small in absolute terms, it places the country among the few producers moving in the opposite direction of the cartel’s overall August trajectory — a reminder of the persistent gap between Nigeria’s production potential and its ability to consistently hold output at higher levels.