Nigeria’s Oil Output Reaches a 5-Year High as Production Climbs to 1.71 Million Barrels Per Day

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company has confirmed that the country’s crude oil production reached 1.71 million barrels per day between April 2025 and April 2026, the highest output level Nigeria has achieved in five years. The milestone arrives on the back of upstream improvements, infrastructure delivery, and a raft of governance reforms that NNPC says are reshaping how the company operates from wellhead to end user.

For a country whose economy remains deeply tied to oil revenue, the numbers represent more than a production statistic. They signal that Nigeria’s prolonged output slump, caused by crude theft, pipeline vandalism, underinvestment, and operational inefficiency, may finally be reversing in a meaningful and sustained way.

How NNPC Disclosed the Milestone

NNPC Group Chief Executive Officer Bayo Ojulari disclosed the production figures in the company’s One-Year Mandate Re    

“We have improved operational performance across the value chain, from production to gas development and infrastructure delivery,” Ojulari said.

The report marks the first time NNPC has publicly consolidated performance data of this scope under its current leadership, and the choice to release it on social media signals a deliberate transparency play aimed at investors, policymakers, and the public simultaneously.

The Impact of Oil Prices 

 NNPC Exploration and Production Limited achieved a peak output of 565,000 barrels per day in December 2025, demonstrating that the company’s own operated assets are contributing meaningfully to overall national production rather than depending entirely on international oil company activity.

Natural gas production held steady at 7.5 billion standard cubic feet per day, a figure that reflects both sustained output discipline and the growing strategic importance of gas as Nigeria pushes to expand domestic utilisation beyond the power sector. Gas has historically been Nigeria’s energy underachiever, flared or stranded while power stations ran below capacity. The sustained 7.5 billion scfd output suggests that dynamic is shifting.

Infrastructure Delivery That Changed the Equation

No production recovery happens without physical infrastructure, and NNPC is pointing to specific completed assets as the backbone of the gains. Ojulari cited the completion of the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano pipeline river crossing as a central factor in strengthening supply reliability. The AKK pipeline has long been one of Nigeria’s most strategically important yet frustratingly delayed energy projects, designed to carry gas from southern fields northward to industrial and power consumers that have operated for years without reliable supply.

The commissioning of several gas processing facilities alongside the AKK river crossing completion means the infrastructure story is not limited to one headline project. Nigeria is simultaneously building out the processing capacity needed to convert raw production into usable, marketable gas, and the transmission infrastructure needed to deliver it to where demand exists.

Industrial Gas Deals Deepen the Strategy

Beyond production numbers, NNPC moved to lock in demand at scale. The company highlighted expanded gas supply agreements with major industrial users, naming Dangote Cement and Dangote Refinery specifically. These agreements matter for a reason that goes beyond contract value: they create anchor demand that justifies further upstream and midstream investment.

When Nigeria’s largest industrial consumers sign gas supply deals with NNPC, they become stakeholders in the success of the country’s gas development programme. They have financial incentive to support infrastructure completion, to lobby for regulatory clarity, and to invest in gas-compatible equipment at their facilities. The commercial logic of these agreements reinforces the infrastructure investment Nigeria needs.

Expert Views on What the Recovery Signals

Energy analysts tracking Nigeria’s oil sector note that reaching 1.71 million barrels per day represents genuine progress but not yet a return to Nigeria’s full potential. Nigeria’s production capacity has been estimated at well above 2 million barrels per day, and years of pipeline vandalism, crude theft, and underinvestment in upstream assets pushed actual output far below that ceiling.

Investors watching Nigeria’s energy sector will also note the context: the Dangote Refinery’s growing operational profile, NNPC’s equity consolidation within it, and the AKK pipeline’s advancing completion collectively point toward a domestic energy value chain that is beginning to connect upstream production with domestic processing and consumption at a scale Nigeria has not previously achieved.

What Comes Next for Nigeria’s Oil Sector

NNPC framed the One-Year Mandate Report as a statement of trajectory rather than arrival. The language around “enhancing accountability, expanding production capacity, and attracting long-term investment” points toward a company positioning itself as a credible long-term partner for international capital rather than a patronage vehicle for domestic politics.

Whether that positioning holds will depend on what happens next: whether the incorporated joint venture model at the Dangote Refinery delivers the efficiency improvements claimed, whether the AKK pipeline moves from river crossing completion to full operational status, whether monthly reporting sustains its rigour beyond the honeymoon period of a new leadership mandate, and whether the production gains of 2025 and 2026 continue into a market environment that is unlikely to be uniformly favourable.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Nigeria’s current crude oil production level? Nigeria’s crude oil production has reached 1.71 million barrels per day between April 2025 and April 2026, its highest level in five years, according to NNPC.

Who confirmed Nigeria’s oil production milestone? NNPC Group Chief Executive Officer Bayo Ojulari confirmed the figures in the company’s One-Year Mandate Report Summary, released publicly on X.

What drove Nigeria’s oil production recovery? The recovery reflects upstream operational improvements, infrastructure upgrades including the completion of the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano pipeline river crossing, the commissioning of gas processing facilities, and expanded industrial gas supply agreements with companies such as Dangote Cement and Dangote Refinery.

What is Nigeria’s natural gas production level? NNPC maintained natural gas production at 7.5 billion standard cubic feet per day alongside the crude oil recovery, reflecting sustained output discipline and growing domestic gas utilisation.What governance reforms has NNPC introduced alongside the production gains? NNPC introduced monthly performance reporting, held its first earnings call in November 2025, and confirmed regular federation account remittances since July 2025, all aimed at improving transparency and investor confidence