NNPC’s Profit Drops By 64.7% To N136bn Amid N1.8trn Federation Account Remittance

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) recorded a sharp 64.7 per cent month‑on‑month decline in profit after tax, which fell from N385 billion in January to N136 billion in February 2026, despite a 4.24 per cent rise in total revenue to N2.68 trillion.

The profit drop coincided with a surge in government remittances, as NNPC Ltd paid N1.804 trillion into the Federation Account—more than double the N726 billion transferred in January—reflecting the impact of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s recent Executive Order mandating full oil and gas revenue flows to the Federation and removing the 30 per cent retention on profit.

The company also reported that crude oil and condensate production averaged 1.51 million barrels per day in February, down from 1.64 million barrels per day in January.

NNPC’s February Monthly Report Summary released on Saturday, attributed the production dip to factors including the Trans Forcados Pipeline outage due to integrity issues, startup challenges at Stardeep Agbami GTC 2 and 3 post-turnaround maintenance, delays at the Sterling Oguali flow station, and sludge management constraints at Enyie wells, which wells weighed on output and profitability.

Despite these hurdles, financial indicators strengthened, with total revenue rising to N2.68 trillion from N2.57 trillion in January.

NNPC emphasised ongoing stabilisation efforts, including improved asset reliability, faster evacuation resolutions, and progress on the AKK gas pipeline to deliver early gas to Abuja, positioning the sector for potential recovery.

NNPC’s February report highlights improvements across key financial and operational indicators.

Major highlights include total revenue rising to N2.68 trillion in February from N2.57 trillion in January, statutory remittances surged to N1.804 trillion, up from N726 billion in the previous month, profit after tax stood at N136 billion, indicating improved profitability, and crude oil and condensate production averaged 1.51 million barrels per day in February.

NNPC’s improved remittance performance follows recent policy changes aimed at strengthening revenue transparency in the oil and gas sector.

It stated, “February production performance was impacted by the combined effect of the outage of the Trans Forcados Pipeline due to integrity issues, start-up challenges of Stardeep Agbami GTC 2 and 3 following completion of turnaround maintenance, delayed completion of the Sterling Oguali flow station, and production ramp-up constraints from Enyie wells due to sludge management issues, among other operational challenges.”

In mid-February 2026, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu signed an Executive Order to overhaul revenue remittance practices.

The directive suspended the collection of management and frontier exploration fees by NNPC Ltd.

It also mandated the full remittance of oil and gas revenues to the Federation Account.

The Executive Order also establishes an inter-agency implementation committee chaired by the minister of finance and coordinating minister for the rconomy to ensure seamless execution.

These measures are part of broader reforms to align revenue flows with constitutional provisions and improve accountability.

The company also reported ongoing efforts to stabilise and improve oil production levels.

NNPC attributed steady output to improved asset reliability and faster resolution of evacuation constraints.

The company highlighted the timely delivery of critical infrastructure as a key factor supporting production, and increased collaboration with operators and stakeholders has also contributed to production recovery across key assets.

These operational improvements are expected to support sustained revenue generation in the coming months.

On the AKK gas pipeline, the company said it “Progressed construction and installation works aimed at delivering early gas to Abuja”.