LAGOS, Nigeria — Nigeria’s average daily crude oil production increased to 1.530 million barrels per day (bpd) in May 2026, up from 1.489 million bpd recorded in April, marking the country’s first return above its OPEC production quota since mid-2025.
Okay News reports that the figures were contained in the latest Monthly Oil Market Report released by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which showed the 41,000 bpd month-on-month increase represents approximately 2.8% growth despite broader production declines among members of the Declaration of Cooperation (DoC).
Total DoC crude oil production averaged 33.13 million bpd in May, representing a decline of 0.19 million bpd from the previous month. Nigeria’s production increase came against this broader trend, reinforcing its position as Africa’s largest crude oil producer.
The last time Nigeria exceeded its OPEC quota was in July 2025, when average daily production reached 1.507 million bpd. In June 2025, OPEC reported that Nigeria produced an average of 1.505 million bpd.
Nigeria continues to outperform several African producers. Libya produced 1.30 million bpd, Algeria produced 982,000 bpd, Congo produced 283,000 bpd, and Gabon produced 210,000 bpd in the same period.
Nigeria has faced significant challenges in meeting its OPEC production quota in recent years due to crude oil theft, pipeline vandalism, underinvestment, and operational disruptions. Recent government efforts to improve pipeline security and increase upstream investments have supported production recovery.
The Federal Government adopted a 2.6 million bpd oil production benchmark for 2026 but will use a more conservative 1.8 million bpd for budgeting purposes. The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) Commission Chief Executive Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan announced in April that Nigeria’s crude oil production increased approximately 40.5% to 1.84 million bpd in March.
NUPRC also reported that Nigeria supplied 28.5 million barrels of crude oil to domestic refineries in the first quarter of 2026, falling significantly short of the 61.9 million barrels allocated for the period.
The increase in crude oil production could provide positive support for Nigeria’s fiscal position and foreign exchange earnings. Government revenue performance is closely tied to production volumes and global oil prices, with sustained output growth expected to strengthen external reserves and reduce fiscal strain.
