Nigeria has again failed to meet its crude oil production quota set by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries after recording average daily crude production of 1.49 million barrels in April 2026, below the 1.5 million barrels per day target.
Latest figures released by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission showed the country produced an average of 1,488,540 barrels of crude oil daily in April, representing about 99 per cent of its OPEC allocation.
When condensates were included, total oil production rose to 1.66 million barrels per day. The latest data means Nigeria has now missed its OPEC production quota for the ninth consecutive month since July 2025.
The NUPRC report showed that combined crude and condensate production peaked at 1.85 million barrels per day during the month, while the lowest daily output stood at 1.46 million barrels. Although production improved slightly compared to March figures, output remained below target, highlighting persistent challenges in Nigeria’s oil sector.
in March, crude oil production stood at 1.38 million barrels per day, while February production dropped further to 1.31 million barrels per day. Nigeria’s oil production continues to face pressure from crude theft, pipeline vandalism, ageing infrastructure and low upstream investment.
The figures also contradict earlier claims by the NUPRC that national oil production had reached an average of 1.8 million barrels per day.
Data from the commission further showed that Nigeria’s crude production weakened towards the end of 2025, falling from 1.436 million barrels per day in November to 1.422 million barrels in December before recording a slight rebound in January 2026.
Nigeria only met or slightly exceeded its OPEC quota in January, June and July of 2025, while production remained below target for most of the year despite government efforts to ramp up output and improve oil sector revenues.
