The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) recorded a 33 per cent increase in profit after tax to N7.2tn in 2025 from N5.4tn in the previous year, as higher oil production and improved operational performance supported earnings.
The company disclosed the figures in its 2025 audited financial statements, showing that revenue stood at N34.5tn during the year, while earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation rose 22 per cent to N18tn.
Operating cash flow increased by 16 per cent to N12.8tn, while earnings per share climbed 32 per cent to N35.9. NNPC declared a dividend of N5.8tn for the year.
The improved profitability came despite a decline in revenue, reflecting the impact of lower crude oil prices and changes in downstream operations following the deregulation of the petroleum market.
NNPC’s oil and condensate production averaged 1.77 million barrels per day in 2025, its highest level in five years. Total crude oil and condensate production reached 565.8 million barrels, representing a 5 per cent increase, while the company’s equity share rose 11 per cent to 223.7 million barrels.
Natural gas production also increased by 9 per cent to 2,606.2 billion standard cubic feet, with NNPC’s equity share rising 11 per cent to 1,154.9 billion standard cubic feet.
The company’s stronger operational performance was accompanied by a sharp decline in pipeline maintenance costs, which fell 90.8 per cent to N13.81bn from N149.48bn in 2024.
NNPC Group Chief Executive Officer, Bayo Ojulari, said improvements in community-based surveillance, government intervention and security operations had helped stabilise major crude evacuation pipelines.
“The most devastating theft has been on our major pipelines in the past, if you remember, right? With the combination of both community-based surveillance and intervention combined with the armed forces, we’ve seen stability, and most of those pipelines have retained 100 per cent availability,” Ojulari said.
He added that the company was deploying technologies, including wellhead cages, fibre optics and intruder detection systems, to address theft around smaller pipelines and wellheads.
NNPC also reported N22.3tn in taxes, royalties and other statutory payments to the Federal Government during the year.
The company’s financial performance came alongside N11.2tn in receivables from the Federation relating to advances and costs incurred on behalf of the government, including costs associated with protecting oil and gas assets.
However, the N11.2tn does not represent fresh energy security expenditure incurred entirely in 2025. NNPC stated that no energy security expense was recognised during the year, compared with N7.13tn in 2024, following a reconciliation of outstanding amounts against royalties, taxes and dividends due to the government.
The reconciliation exercise was completed in September 2025, while energy security cost receivables stood at N8.67tn at the end of the year.
NNPC said it also made progress on strategic infrastructure projects during the period, including the completion of the River Niger crossing and the 40-inch, 623-kilometre mainline of the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano gas pipeline.
The company commissioned the ANOH-OB3 Custody Transfer Metering Station, advanced the 300 million standard cubic feet per day ANOH Gas Processing Plant towards start-up readiness and acquired 500 compressed natural gas-powered trucks.
NNPC is targeting crude oil production of two million barrels per day by 2027 and three million barrels per day by 2030. It also aims to increase gas production to 12 billion standard cubic feet per day by 2030 and mobilise $60bn in upstream, midstream and downstream investments over the period.