Nigeria misses OPEC production target again in April

Nigeria again failed to meet its crude oil production quota set by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries after recording an average daily output of 1.49 million barrels in April, slightly below the 1.5 million barrels per day target.

Latest figures released by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission showed that the country produced an average of 1,488,540 barrels of crude oil daily during the month, representing about 99 per cent of its OPEC allocation.

When condensates were included, Nigeria’s total daily oil production increased to 1.66 million barrels per day.

The latest data contradict an earlier claim by the NUPRC that the country’s oil production had risen to an average of 1.8 million barrels per day.

The April figures also mean Nigeria has remained below its OPEC quota for the ninth consecutive month since July 2025.

According to the NUPRC report, combined crude oil and condensate production reached a peak of 1.85 million barrels per day during the month, while the lowest production level stood at 1.46 million barrels per day.

Although the April performance showed slight improvement compared to previous months, it was still insufficient to meet the OPEC target.

Nigeria’s crude oil production has continued to face challenges linked to oil theft, pipeline vandalism, ageing infrastructure and inadequate investment in the upstream sector.

The latest figures represent an improvement from March, when total oil production stood at 1.55 million barrels per day, while crude oil production alone was put at 1.38 million barrels per day.

Production in March reflected a 69,000 barrels-per-day increase from the 1.31 million barrels recorded in February, but it still fell 117,000 barrels short of Nigeria’s OPEC quota.

The February figures had earlier revealed a month-on-month decline of 146,000 barrels per day, further widening the country’s production gap.

Nigeria had recorded a modest rebound in January 2026 when crude oil production rose from 1.422 million barrels per day in December 2025 to 1.46 million barrels per day. However, the recovery was short-lived as output dropped significantly in February.

Earlier NUPRC data also showed that crude oil production weakened towards the end of 2025, declining from 1.436 million barrels per day in November to 1.422 million barrels per day in December before recovering slightly in January.

In 2025, Nigeria failed to meet its OPEC production quota in nine months, only achieving or slightly surpassing the target in January, June and July.

The country started 2025 on a strong note, producing 1.54 million barrels per day in January, about 38,700 barrels above its OPEC allocation.

However, production dropped below the quota in February at 1.47 million barrels per day and declined further in March to 1.40 million barrels per day, marking one of the widest shortfalls recorded during the year.