Nigeria maintained compliance with its Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) production target for a third consecutive month in July, although disruptions at key oil fields pushed national crude output lower.
Data released by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) on Wednesday showed that Nigeria produced an average of 1.505 million barrels per day (mbpd) of crude oil in July, marginally exceeding its 1.5mbpd OPEC quota.
The achievement came as monthly production fell by about 65,000 barrels per day, or 3.75 per cent, from the 1.57mbpd crude output recorded in June.
When condensate is included, Nigeria’s total petroleum liquids production averaged 1.67mbpd in July, comprising 1.505mbpd of crude and 170,000 barrels per day of condensate.
The NUPRC said the decline was largely linked to operational problems at the Erha and Akpo fields, which constrained production during the month.
“These disruptions constrained production volumes and contributed significantly to the overall reduction in national crude oil output,” the commission said.
Despite the setbacks, the regulator said output from other producing assets remained relatively stable, with operators taking measures to limit the impact of the disruptions and sustain production efficiency.
July’s performance marked a reversal of the steady production gains recorded during the first half of the year.
Combined crude oil and condensate output rose from 1.459mbpd in January to 1.483mbpd in February, 1.564mbpd in March, 1.663mbpd in April, 1.701mbpd in May and 1.735mbpd in June.
The July figure therefore represented the first month-on-month decline after six consecutive months of increases.
In a statement signed by its Head of Media and Corporate Communications, Eniola Akinkuotu, the NUPRC confirmed that Nigeria had remained above its OPEC target for three straight months.
“Nigeria has for the consecutive third 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,” the commission said.
The regulator noted, however, that meeting the quota did not mask the underlying decline in production.
“Although Nigeria met its OPEC quota in the month of July, the statistics show that on a month-on-month basis, production fell by four per cent,” it added.
Production fluctuated throughout July, with combined crude and condensate output reaching a daily high of 1.78mbpdand falling to a low of 1.57mbpd.
Among the major terminals, Forcados recorded the highest average production at 322.34 thousand barrels per day (kbpd), followed by Bonny Terminal at 303.72kbpd.
Qua Iboe Terminal averaged 158.02kbpd, while Escravos Oil Terminal produced 131.41kbpd. Bonga ranked fifth with average crude production of 100.23kbpd.
The NUPRC said routine production and crude evacuation activities were largely sustained during the month, despite the disruptions affecting some assets.
It added that industry operators and other stakeholders were working to restore affected capacity and improve the reliability of the impacted facilities.
The regulator said the July experience highlighted the need for stronger asset management and faster intervention when operational problems emerge.
“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,” the commission said.
The latest figures leave Nigeria only marginally above its OPEC quota, making the restoration of disrupted production capacity important if the country is to sustain its recent compliance while rebuilding output toward higher levels.