Nigeria Records 398.98million Barrels Crude, Condensate Output In 8 Months, 72% Of 2025 Total

Nigeria has produced 72 per cent of its entire 2025 crude oil and condensate output in just eight months of 2026, according to a comparison of figures from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).

The country pumped a cumulative 398,986,780 barrels of crude oil and condensate between January and August 2026, compared with 554.4 million barrels produced across the whole of 2025.

According to data compiled by LEADERSHIP, on average, production for the January to August 2026 period stood at approximately 1.64 million barrels per day, already slightly ahead of the 1.63 million barrels per day average recorded for the whole of 2025.

The 2025 figure itself represented a five per cent increase from 2024, when average daily production, including condensate, stood at 1,580,369 barrels per day, with total output for that year at 578,521,740 barrels.

A month-by-month review of the 2026 data shows production climbing from 1,627,460 barrels per day in January to a peak of 1,735,398 barrels per day in June, before easing to 1,670,890 barrels per day in July and recovering marginally to 1,677,770 barrels per day in August.

By comparison, 2025 production fluctuated between 1.58 million and 1.73 million barrels per day throughout the year, starting strong at 1.73 million bopd in January before declining through the first quarter. March recorded a daily average of 1,603,776 barrels per day, comprising 1,400,783 bopd of crude oil and 202,993 bopd of condensate.

If the pace recorded so far in 2026 is sustained through the remaining four months of the year, Nigeria’s full-year output could surpass the 2025 total, potentially delivering the country’s strongest annual production performance in recent years.

The NUPRC has attributed the gains recorded through the year to the resolution of operational bottlenecks at key producing assets, including the recent fix of Single Buoy Mooring challenges at the Erha field, as well as sustained measures by operators to maintain asset integrity and evacuation capacity across the country’s producing terminals.

Nigeria pumped a cumulative total of about 399 million barrels of crude oil and condensate between January and August 2026, according to figures compiled from data released by the NUPRC.

The volume, derived from average daily production figures recorded over the eight-month period, translates to an average of about 1,640,474 barrels per day, according to the compiled NUPRC data.

Month-by-month trend

A month-by-month breakdown shows production rose steadily from January, dipped in February, then climbed through June, before easing off in the last two months of the period under review.

In January, Nigeria produced an average of 1,627,460 barrels per day. Output dropped to 1,483,940 barrels per day in February, the lowest monthly average recorded in the period, before rising to 1,564,100 barrels per day in March.

Production climbed further to 1,663,430 barrels per day in April and 1,700,800 barrels per day in May. Output peaked in June at 1,735,398 barrels per day, the highest monthly average recorded so far in 2026, before easing to 1,670,890 barrels per day in July and rising marginally to 1,677,770 barrels per day in August.

Daily swings within the months

Beyond the monthly averages, the NUPRC data also captured the range between the lowest and highest daily production figures recorded in each month, reflecting the volatility that characterised output during the period.

In May, the lowest and peak combined crude oil and condensate production stood at 1.51 million barrels per day and 1.86 million barrels per day, respectively, with a daily average of 1.70 million barrels per day for the month, comprising 1.53 million barrels per day of crude oil and 0.17 million barrels per day of condensate. The average crude oil output for May represented 102 per cent of Nigeria’s OPEC quota of 1.5 million barrels per day.

In July, the lowest and peak daily crude oil and condensate production were 1.57 million barrels per day and 1.78 million barrels per day, respectively, with a daily average of 1.67 million barrels per day, comprising 1.505 million barrels per day of crude oil and 0.17 million barrels per day of condensate.

By August, daily production ranged between a low of 1.64 million barrels per day and a high of 1.71 million barrels per day, with a daily average of approximately 1.68 million barrels per day, comprising 1.50 million barrels per day of crude oil and 0.18 million barrels per day of condensate.

OPEC quota compliance

According to the NUPRC, Nigeria met its Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) crude oil quota of 1.5 million barrels per day, excluding condensate, in each of the four months from May to August, with average crude oil production in August representing 100 per cent of the country’s quota.

The Commission had noted that although Nigeria met its quota in July, production fell by four per cent on a month-on-month basis compared with June, when output hit its highest point for the year.

Terminal performance in August

A breakdown of the daily average crude oil and condensate production by terminals and streams for August showed Bonny Terminal leading with an average of 320.04 thousand barrels per day, followed by Forcados Terminal with 317.40 thousand barrels per day.

Qua Iboe Terminal recorded an average production of 171.72 thousand barrels per day, while Escravos Oil Terminal posted a daily average of 131.71 thousand barrels per day. Bonga ranked as the fifth-highest-producing terminal, recording an average of 92.50 thousand barrels per day.

Erha field recovery

The improvement recorded in August followed the resolution of operational challenges with the Single Buoy Mooring (SBM) at the Erha field, which had adversely affected production performance in July. The NUPRC said the restoration of normal evacuation and production operations at the asset contributed positively to overall production volumes during the period.

The Commission said production activities across most other producing assets remained relatively stable in August, with operators sustaining measures to optimise production efficiency, maintain asset integrity and minimise operational disruptions. Routine production and crude evacuation operations were generally sustained across the industry, supporting the observed improvement in output.

Outlook

While describing the August increase as modest, the NUPRC said it reflected the industry’s continued efforts to address operational bottlenecks and restore affected production capacity. Stakeholders, it added, remain focused on enhancing asset reliability, improving operational resilience and advancing intervention programmes to support sustained production growth in the coming months.

The Commission said the eight-month performance, taken together, underscored the importance of timely resolution of operational constraints, effective asset management and continued collaboration among industry stakeholders in safeguarding and improving Nigeria’s crude oil production capacity.