Nigeria’s oil production dropped 4% in July – NUPRC

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Nigeria’s crude oil production fell by four per cent month-on-month in July, but the country still met its Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries quota for the third consecutive month, latest data from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission has shown.

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The commission’s latest production figures showed that Nigeria pumped an average of 1.505 million barrels per day of crude oil in July, slightly above its OPEC quota of 1.5 million barrels per day.

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When condensate production of about 170,000 barrels per day is included, the country’s total crude and condensate output stood at 1.67 million barrels per day during the month.

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The July performance, however, represented a decline from the 1.735 million barrels per day recorded in June, translating to a reduction of about 65,000 barrels per day, or 3.75 per cent.

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The NUPRC disclosed the figures in a statement issued on Wednesday by its Head of Media and Corporate Communications, Eniola Akinkuotu.

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The statement read, “Nigeria has for the third consecutive month met and exceeded its OPEC quota of 1.5mbpd. In the month of July 2026, Nigeria produced 1.505mbpd of crude oil and 0.17mbpd of condensate, bringing the combined daily production to 1.67mbpd.

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“Although Nigeria met its OPEC quota in the month of July, the statistics show that on a month-on-month basis, production fell by 4 per cent.”

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According to the commission, daily combined crude and condensate production fluctuated between a low of 1.57 million barrels per day and a peak of 1.78 million barrels per day in July.

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“Daily average production was 1.67 million barrels per day, comprising both crude oil (1.505 million bopd) and condensate (0.17mbpd),” the commission said.

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Despite the July decline, Nigeria has maintained crude production above its 1.5mbpd OPEC quota for three consecutive months.

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The country’s combined crude and condensate production has increased since the beginning of the year, according to NUPRC’s month-on-month data.

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Production stood at 1.459 million barrels per day in January, before rising to 1.483mbpd in February. It subsequently increased to 1.564mbpd in March, 1.663mbpd in April, 1.701mbpd in May and 1.735mbpd in June.

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July therefore marked the first monthly decline after the steady increase recorded in the first half of the year.

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Compared with January, however, July’s combined production of 1.67mbpd was about 211,000 barrels per day, or 14.5 per cent, higher.

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The NUPRC attributed the July decline principally to operational challenges at the Erha and Akpo fields, which affected production during the month.

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“These disruptions constrained production volumes and contributed significantly to the overall reduction in national crude oil output,” the commission said.

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It added that production activities at other oil-producing assets remained relatively stable despite the disruptions.

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“Despite the challenges encountered, production operations across other producing assets remained relatively stable, with operators implementing measures aimed at maintaining production efficiency and minimising the impact of operational constraints,” the regulator said.

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It said routine production and crude evacuation activities were also largely sustained across the industry.

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The commission added that operators and other stakeholders were working to resolve the affected production facilities and restore lost capacity.

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“Industry stakeholders remain focused on addressing the identified operational issues, restoring affected production capacity and strengthening asset reliability to support improved performance in subsequent months,” it said.

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The breakdown of production by terminals and streams showed that Forcados Terminal recorded an average output of 322.34kbpd in July, making it the largest producing stream listed by the commission.

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It was followed by Bonny Terminal, which recorded 303.72kbpd.

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Qua Iboe Terminal ranked third, with average production of 158.02kbpd of crude oil and condensates, while Escravos Oil Terminal recorded 131.41kbpd.

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The Bonga stream ranked fifth among the leading producing terminals, with an average of 100.23kbpd of crude oil.

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The Federal Government and NUPRC have identified increased crude oil production as important to government revenue, foreign exchange earnings and investment in the upstream sector.

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