Nigeria's Oil Output Rises to 1.68 Million Barrels Per Day, Meets OPEC Quota for Fourth Straight Month

Nigeria's crude oil and condensate production rose to 1,677,777 barrels per day in August 2026, a 0.4 per cent increase from the 1.67 million barrels per day recorded in July. The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission confirmed the figure in a statement issued on Sunday by its Head, Media and Corporate Communications, Eniola Akinkuotu.

The modest rise marked another month of improved output, with the country sustaining compliance with its Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries crude oil quota for the fourth consecutive month. Crude oil production alone, excluding condensates, stood at 1,500,190 barrels per day in August.

Erha Field Fix Lifts Output

The NUPRC tied the improvement largely to the resolution of operational challenges involving the Single Buoy Mooring at the Erha field, which had dragged on production in the preceding month. The regulator said the restoration of normal evacuation and production operations at the asset contributed positively to overall volumes during the period.

"The restoration of normal evacuation and production operations at the asset contributed positively to overall production volumes during the period under review," the statement read.

Production across most other producing assets stayed relatively stable, with operators maintaining measures to improve efficiency, protect asset integrity and cut operational disruptions. The lowest daily crude oil and condensate production in August was 1.64 million barrels per day, while the highest was 1.71 million barrels per day.

Bonny Leads Terminal Rankings

A breakdown by terminals and streams showed Bonny Terminal posted the highest average output at 320.04 thousand barrels per day. Forcados Terminal followed with 317.40 thousand barrels per day, while Qua Iboe Terminal averaged 171.72 thousand barrels per day of crude oil and condensates.

Escravos Oil Terminal recorded a daily average of 131.71 thousand barrels per day, and Bonga ranked fifth among the leading producing terminals with an average of 92.50 thousand barrels per day of crude oil.

The August figure was an increase of 6,777 barrels per day from July's 1,671,000 barrels per day, based on the rounded July number. It was, however, 57,621 barrels per day lower than the 1,735,398 barrels per day recorded in June, a decline of about 3.3 per cent when compared with the latest available June production data.

Regulator Flags Asset Reliability

The NUPRC said the August performance reflected the industry's continued push to resolve operational constraints and restore affected production capacity.

"While the increase recorded in August was modest, it reflects the industry's continued efforts to address operational bottlenecks and restore affected production capacity. Stakeholders remain focused on enhancing asset reliability, improving operational resilience and advancing intervention programs to support sustained production growth in the coming months," the commission stated.

The regulator stressed the importance of timely intervention, effective asset management and collaboration among industry stakeholders in safeguarding Nigeria's crude oil production capacity. Oil production has remained a central plank of government efforts to raise revenue, lift foreign exchange earnings and keep the country within its OPEC quota.

For the naira, higher crude output points to stronger dollar inflows, though the August gain was too small to shift the currency on its own. Sustaining the trend past the OPEC quota mark matters more for the CBN's forex supply and for federal revenue sharing in the months ahead.