Nigeria’s daily oil production rises 4.2% to 1.54mbpd

By Obas Esiedesa

Nigeria’s oil production rose by 4.2 per cent to 1.546 million barrels per day (mbpd) in March 2026, compared to 1.483 mbpd recorded in February, according to the latest data from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).

In its oil production status report released on Wednesday, the commission said crude oil production (excluding condensate) increased by 5.2 per cent to 1.382 mbpd in March from 1.313 mbpd in February.

Despite the improvement, Nigeria fell short of its Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) quota of 1.5 mbpd for the third consecutive month. Output also remained below the 1.84 mbpd benchmark set in the 2026 budget.

The NUPRC reported that the lowest daily production recorded in March was 1.4 mbpd, while the highest reached 1.84 mbpd.

The commission had, however, indicated last week that production had rebounded to 1.84 mbpd, with the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, commending the NUPRC for the improvement in output.

Describing the development as “fantastic news,” the minister said the current production level aligns with the directive of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to ramp up oil output.

“It is heartening that you can tell us that you are doing 1.84 million barrels per day. That is totally in line with the President’s directive,” Edun said, urging the commission to sustain the momentum.

He stressed the need to increase production further to meet the government’s target of two million barrels per day, noting that consistency in output remains critical.

“What matters is not just reaching certain heights but sustaining it. We don’t want any stopping along the way. The trajectory should be maintained, and of course the magic figure is 2mbpd,” he added.

The commission’s chief executive, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, who confirmed that Nigeria’s daily crude oil production had recently reached 1.84 mbpd, expresses optimism that output would increase further.

“We are doing 1.84 million barrels per day. That is a remarkable feat, but I am sure we will do more,” she said.

She attributed the dip in production recorded in February to disruptions at key facilities and scheduled turnaround maintenance, adding that the issues had since been resolved.

“All that has been fixed and we are seeing production ramping up,” Eyesan said.

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