Market News

By Abdullateef Aliyu, Lagos

Nigeria’s oil production, including condensate, rose by four per cent Month-on-Month (MoM) to 1.737 million barrels per day (bpd) in January 2025 compared to 1.667 million bpd recorded in December 2024.

On a year-on-year (YoY) basis, output saw a 5.7 per cent increase, reaching 1.737 million bpd in January 2025, compared to 1.643 million bpd in the same period of 2024, according to the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).

In its latest report on Crude Oil and Condensate Production, the NUPRC stated, “Lowest and peak production in January was 1.66 million bopd and 1.79 million bopd, respectively. The average crude oil production was 103 per cent of OPEC quota (1.5 mbpd).

“The daily average production in January was 1,737,480 barrels per day, comprising both crude oil (1,538,697 bopd) and condensate (198,783 bopd).”

This indicated that Nigeria successfully met the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) production quota of 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd).

However, the figure fell short of the 2.06 million bpd target of the federal government and the projected oil price of $75 per barrel though the Brent Crude closed $75.06 per barrel as of yesterday.

According to OPEC’s recently released February 2025 Monthly Oil Market Report, Nigeria’s crude oil production, excluding condensate, grew by 6.3 per cent MoM to 1.539 million bpd in January 2025, up from 1.485 million bpd in December 2024.

On a YoY basis, the country’s crude oil output, excluding condensate, rose by 7.8 per cent from 1.427 million bpd in January 2024 to 1.539 million bpd in January 2025, according to OPEC.

The organisation stated that these figures were based on data obtained through direct communication. It also reaffirmed that Nigeria remains Africa’s top crude oil producer, while Equatorial Guinea ranks lowest with an output of 62,000 bpd.

The federal government recently stated that efforts are ongoing to achieve the 2.06m production target projected in the 2025 budget of N54.9 trillion.

Speaking recently, Managing Director, Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited (SNEPCo), Ronald Adams, stated that  Nigeria can meet oil production targets and implement ambitious development programmes from deep-water oil and gas operations if it continues with policies to encourage investments and boost output in the sector.

“Deep water is a compelling consideration for Nigeria if the country must meet its oil production targets and implement ambitious development programmes,” Adams said while speaking at a recent oil and gas conference.

He said Nigeria’s deep-water fields are home to some of the world’s most promising associated and non-associated gas reserves, with vast untapped potential that could play a vital role in powering Nigeria’s future, supporting cleaner energy and contributing to global emissions reduction.