Nigeria’s Crude Production Continues Downward Fall, Reaches Lowest In Seven Months
November 29, 2025
News
Nigeria’s crude oil production declined further in October, continuing a downward trend that has persisted for months, according to the latest monthly report from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL). The October output represents the lowest average daily production in seven months.
Data from the reviewed document shows that Nigeria produced an average of 1.30 million barrels per day (bpd) in October—down from 1.38 million bpd in September and 1.37 million bpd in August.
Production numbers have consistently fallen since June, when the country recorded 1.42 million bpd, the highest figure in the review period. July output stood at 1.40 million bpd, while May and April each averaged 1.35 million bpd.
The only month lower than October was March, with 1.29 million bpd. Meanwhile, February saw 1.35 million bpd, and January posted 1.39 million bpd.
Despite these figures, Nigeria has consistently failed to meet its OPEC production quota of 1.5 million bpd.
According to industry analysts, the persistent shortfall is driven by a combination of sabotage, pipeline vandalism, operational challenges, and longstanding mismanagement of the oil sector. These issues have restricted output despite Nigeria’s capacity to produce more.
Experts warn that continued production declines could further weaken government revenues and hamper broader economic growth.
SaharaReporters also earlier reported that Nigeria continues to struggle to meet domestic refinery demand for crude oil. New figures released by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) show that 67,657,559 barrels of crude oil were allocated to local refiners between January and August 2025.
This allocation was made in line with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021 and the Domestic Crude Supply Obligation policy, according to NUPRC’s Head of Media and Strategic Communications, Eniola Akinkuotu.
A separate NUPRC document projected that local refineries required 123.4 million barrels of crude between January and June, averaging 770,500 barrels per day or 23.8 million barrels per month.
Based on these projections, the 67.7 million barrels supplied between January and August represent a shortfall of over 55.8 million barrels, meaning the government failed to meet at least 45% of domestic crude requirements.
Earlier reports also indicated that Nigeria imported fuel valued at N4.13 trillion in the first and second quarters of 2025, highlighting the country’s continued dependence on imported petroleum products despite its status as a major crude oil producer.