Nigeria misses OPEC quota for 5th consecutive month

Nigeria has yet again missed its Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) quota for the fifth consecutive month, latest data from the global oil cartel has shown.

The fall in OPEC-assigned production quota for the fifth consecutive month highlights persistent operational and structural challenges in the upstream sector despite ongoing reforms.

According to the Monthly Oil Market Report (MOMR) released recently, Nigeria’s oil production edged lower to 1.422 million barrels per day (bpd) in December 2025, from 1.436 million bpd in November.

The OPEC MOMR indicated that Nigeria last met its production target in July 2025, with output remaining below quota from August through December.

Quarterly data point to a steady decline during the year.

Nigeria recorded 1.468 million bpd in the first quarter of 2025, 1.481 million bpd in the second quarter, 1.444 million bpd in the third quarter and 1.42 million bpd in the last quarter of the year.

However, OPEC secondary sources reported higher estimates.

According to the estimates, Nigeria’s crude oil production rose from 1.491 million bpd in November to 1.5 million bpd in December.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited reported crude oil and condensate production of 1.6 million bpd for November 2025, up by 1.3 per cent from October levels.

NNPC includes condensate in its output figures, but OPEC does not, and the quotas exclude condensate production.

Going forward, NNPC Ltd says it plans to Intensify collaboration with its partners in 2026 to ensure improved production performance, maximise infrastructure uptime, and maintain high facility maintenance standards across all asset.

NNPC Ltd added that it was equally set to increase oil production to two million barrels a day over the next two years, its executive vice president for upstream, Udy Ntia, said in November 2025.

By 2030, he said NNPC Ltd will be pumping three million barrels daily.

Nigeria has been pumping more crude and drilling more new wells than it has in years, thanks to reforms under President Bola Tinubu that are finally leading to more cash flowing into the upstream industry.

Daily output of crude and condensate has climbed to between 1.7 million and 1.83 million barrels, while active rigs surged from 31 in January to 50 by July.

COURTESY: thesun.ng