Nigeria’s Oil Output Falls 4% to 1.67mbpd Despite Meeting OPEC Quota

Nigeria’s crude oil and condensate production fell 4 per cent month-on-month to 1.67 million barrels per day in July 2026, although output remained above the country’s 1.5mbpd OPEC quota for the third consecutive month.

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC)  said Nigeria produced an average of 1.505 million barrels per day (mbpd) of crude oil and 0.17mbpd of condensates during the month, taking combined daily production to 1.67mbpd.

The July output exceeded Nigeria’s OPEC quota of 1.5mbpd, marking the third consecutive month in which the country met or surpassed its production allocation.

Despite the stronger performance against the OPEC quota, the NUPRC data showed that national production declined by 4 per cent compared with the previous month.

The regulator attributed the decline to operational challenges at the Erha and Akpo fields, which affected production during the period.

The disruptions, according to the NUPRC, constrained production volumes and contributed significantly to the reduction in national crude oil output

Daily combined crude oil and condensate production ranged between 1.57mbpd and 1.78mbpd during July.

The NUPRC said production activities across other producing assets remained relatively stable, with operators implementing measures to maintain efficiency and limit the impact of the disruptions.

Routine production and crude evacuation operations were also largely sustained across the sector.

A breakdown of average daily crude oil and condensate production by terminals and streams showed that Forcados Terminal recorded the highest output in July at 322.34 thousand barrels per day (kbpd).

Bonny Terminal followed with 303.72kbpd, while Qua Iboe Terminal recorded an average production of 158.02kbpd.

Escravos Oil Terminal posted an average daily output of 131.41kbpd, while Bonga ranked fifth among the leading production streams with an average of 100.23kbpd of crude oil.

The NUPRC said industry stakeholders were focused on resolving the operational challenges identified at the affected fields, restoring production capacity and strengthening asset reliability.

The regulator said the July performance underscored the importance of proactive asset management, operational resilience and timely intervention in limiting production losses.

“Industry stakeholders remain focused on addressing the identified operational issues, restoring affected production capacity and strengthening asset reliability to support improved performance in subsequent months,” the commission said.

Nigeria’s ability to sustain oil production above its OPEC quota remains important for government revenue and foreign exchange supply, given the continued role of crude oil in the country’s fiscal and external-sector performance.

However, the July decline also highlights the sensitivity of national output to operational disruptions across major producing assets.

The NUPRC said operators would continue efforts to maintain production efficiency and minimise the impact of operational constraints as the industry seeks to improve output in subsequent months.