Business
Nigeria Earns N55.5tn From Crude Oil Sales in 2025
Nigeria earned an average of N55.5tn from crude oil sales in 2025, an analysis of official production figures released by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission and crude price data published by the Central Bank of Nigeria has shown.
The 2025 figure is higher when compared to the N50.88tn earned in 2024.
NUPRC data indicate that Nigeria produced a total of 530.41 million barrels of crude oil between January and December 2025, with output fluctuating throughout the year amid outages, operational disruptions, and a gradual recovery in some producing fields.
The N55.5tn was obtained by multiplying 530.41 million barrels by the average crude oil price of $72.08 in 2025, and converting the result with N1,450 to a dollar.
ALSO READ: NLNG Unveils New Visual Identities for the Nigeria Prizes
Crude oil production opened the year strongly at 47.70 million barrels in January, before falling to 41.02 million barrels in February. Output recovered modestly in March to 43.42 million barrels and rose further in April to 44.57 million barrels. Production remained relatively stable through the second quarter, increasing slightly to 45.04 million barrels in May and 45.16 million barrels in June.
In the third quarter, crude output climbed to 46.73 million barrels in July, but dipped again in August to 44.47 million barrels and fell further in September to 41.69 million barrels, one of the lowest levels recorded during the year. Production rebounded in the final quarter, reaching 43.44 million barrels in October, 43.08 million barrels in November, and 44.08 million barrels in December, according to the NUPRC.
While output remained below Nigeria’s OPEC quota for most of the year, crude oil prices helped support revenue. Data from the CBN show that Bonny Light, Nigeria’s flagship crude grade, traded at elevated levels in the early part of the year before easing in the second quarter.
Bonny Light crude sold at an average of $80.76 per barrel in January 2025, before declining to $77.08 in February and $74.44 in March. Prices dropped further in April to $69.07 and reached a low of $65.90 in May, reflecting softer global oil market conditions.
Prices recovered in June to $73.50 and remained largely stable in the third quarter, averaging $73.18 in July, $70.55 in August, and $70.20 in September, before falling again to $66.15 in October, the latest month for which CBN data were available.
Using the simple average of the 10 monthly Bonny Light prices published by the CBN, crude prices averaged $72.08 per barrel over the period under review.
Applying this average price to Nigeria’s total crude oil production of 530.41 million barrels, estimated gross crude oil revenue for 2025 stood at approximately $38.23bn. Converted at an exchange rate of N1,450 to the dollar, this translates to about N55.5tn in crude oil earnings for the year.
Industry analysts noted that the figure represents gross revenue, not actual government receipts, as it does not account for production costs, joint venture cash calls, production-sharing contract cost recovery, oil theft, domestic crude supply obligations, or deferred liftings.
Nonetheless, the analysis provides a clear picture of the scale of crude oil inflows generated during the year, based strictly on official production data from the NUPRC and price benchmarks from the CBN, highlighting the continued importance of both output stability and price performance to Nigeria’s oil-dependent economy.
It should be noted that the N55tn was the amount expected to have been generated by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, the international oil companies, and their indigenous counterparts for the sale of crude produced in Nigeria.
In 2024, it was noted that Nigeria produced 408.68 million barrels of crude oil, generating approximately N50.88tn.
Crude for Loan
The PUNCH reports that the government-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited serviced part of its $3bn forward-sale loan from the African Export-Import Bank with crude oil worth N991bn in 2024.
According to its 2024 financial statement report, the repayment was tied to Project Gazelle, a forward crude oil supply agreement signed in 2023.
On August 17, 2023, The PUNCH reported that the NNPC announced it had secured a $3.3bn emergency loan to repay crude oil obligations from Afreximbank. It explained that the loan would be used by the oil company to support the Federal Government in stabilising Nigeria’s exchange rate.
Under the deal, NNPC committed to deliver 90,000 barrels of crude oil per day from Production Sharing Contract assets to back a funding facility. According to the 2023 financial statement, a drawdown of $2.25bn had already been achieved by 31st December 2023, with principal repayment scheduled to begin in June 2024.
The funding carried an interest rate of 3-month LIBOR plus 6.5 per cent, with a 6 per cent margin and 0.5 per cent liquidity premium. According to the financial statement, the drawdown on the facility had reached N4.9tn out of a total available N5.1tn, while N991bn worth of crude oil had been lifted in repayment, leaving an outstanding balance of N3.8tn at the end of 2024.
It could not be ascertained yet how much crude the NNPC committed to the repayment of the N3.8tn outstanding loan in the whole of 2025.
OPEC Quota
It was reported that Nigeria’s crude oil output dipped in December 2025 by 14,000 barrels per day, defying government efforts to ramp up production.
According to data from NUPRC, instead of rising to meet the 1.5 million barrels per day quota set for Nigeria by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, crude oil production fell from 1.436 mbpd in November to 1.422 mbpd in December, representing 95 per cent of the OPEC quota.
The data show that in 2025, Nigeria’s crude oil production fell below its OPEC quota in nine months of the year, meeting or slightly exceeding the target only in January, June, and July. A review of the average daily crude oil output indicates that Nigeria opened the year strongly, producing 1.54 mbpd in January, about 38,700 bpd above its OPEC allocation.
Output, however, dipped below the quota in February at 1.47 mbpd and weakened further in March, when production averaged 1.40 mbpd, representing one of the widest shortfalls of the year.
Although output recovered modestly in April (1.49 mbpd) and May (1.45 mbpd), Nigeria remained under its OPEC ceiling until June, when crude production edged up to 1.51 mbpd, marginally exceeding the quota.
The country sustained this momentum in July, producing 1.51 mbpd, before slipping back below the threshold in the following months.
Production declined notably in the third quarter, averaging 1.43 mbpd in August and falling to a yearly low of 1.39 mbpd in September, leaving a deficit of more than 110,000 barrels per day against the OPEC target.
The NUPRC data reveal that output remained subdued in the final quarter, with daily crude production standing at 1.40 mbpd in October, 1.436 mbpd in November, and 1.422 mbpd in December.
Missed Target
In the 2025 budget, Nigeria planned to produce at least 2.1 million barrels of oil (crude oil and condensate) per day. This would amount to 766.5 million barrels if multiplied by the 365 days in the year.
However, in the whole of 2025, the country struggled to pump 599.64 million barrels of oil — 530.41mb of crude and 69.23mb of condensate. This means the country was 166.86 million barrels below its oil production target in 2025.
As a result, the 2026 benchmarks for oil were seen to be deliberately conservative to account for uncertainties in the global oil market and ongoing domestic challenges, including security issues and infrastructure constraints affecting crude oil production.
Instead of the ambitious 2.1 million barrels for 2025, the 2026 revenue estimate is anchored on a daily production of 1.84 million barrels, a benchmark crude oil price of $64.85 per barrel, and an average exchange rate of N1,400 to the dollar.
Experts Speak
A professor of economics, Segun Ajibola, said the crude production volume is dependent on several factors, many of which are beyond the immediate control of the government itself.
According to him, the government can deploy resources towards oil exploration, but the overall impact depends on technical cooperation by partners, the joint ventures, happenings in the global oil market, and the environmental conditions, among others.
Ajibola maintained that the Nigerian situation is somehow complex, as the key agency in charge, the NNPC, has been enmeshed in controversies over the period.
The don stated that of particular concern are the unsettled problems in host communities, incessant pipeline vandalisation, activities of bunkerers with alleged loss of about 30 per cent of potent production annually, the state of insecurity in the country, corruption in high places, and others.
Ajibola submitted, “The government can be more decisive in addressing those problems that are right on its table to jack up production levels and meet planned targets. It does not appear that the government is doing enough at the moment.”
Speaking, the Chief Executive Officer, Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, Muda Yusuf, remarked that oil production has suffered from two major limitations or challenges—the challenges of insecurity and policy, saying those are the two factors that have affected investment in oil exploration and exploitation in the upstream sector.
“On insecurity, the government has committed a lot of resources to protect pipelines and protect investors, and we can see some results, but we are not exactly where we should be. So, insecurity is still a kind of issue affecting oil production. The government continues to commit resources to tackle insecurity; it engaged private community-based security agencies to support the efforts of the military. Some progress has been made, but we are not yet where we expect to be,” he stressed.
Yusuf stressed the challenge of policy, adding that it took the country a long time to come up with the Petroleum Industry Act, and even the act itself still requires some fine-tuning.
“So there is still the need to review the fiscal terms to encourage more investors to come because attracting capital to the oil sector is a very competitive thing. We are competing with many other oil-producing countries that are offering far better incentives to investors.
“The good news is that the President has committed to attracting those investors into the oil sector. The latest we saw in this regard was the meeting between the President and the Global Executive of Shell, where a promise of $20bn investment was made.
“So these are the kind of things that we expect to see. If we see more of these, we are likely to see more investments in oil production. So it’s a question of improving the fiscal terms, ensuring policy sustainability and stability, so that the problem of uncertainty or unpredictability will no longer be there. We should ensure we have security of investments and assets of investors in the Niger Delta,” Yusuf stressed.
A professor of energy, Dayo Ayoade, said the government knows what to do to ramp up oil production.
“If you want to fix production targets in the oil and gas industry, you have to ensure that you have good governance in the sector. Your sector must have a well-implemented programme. You must adhere to your own laws. And when you do this, you boost confidence among your investors, and then the investors would want to bring in their US dollars to invest in your country. If you don’t do this, then that could be a problem,” Ayoade said.
He posited that there’s still the issue of oil, even though the government no longer makes much noise about it.
Despite the N55.5tn made in 2025, the don said, “The facts are that there are reasons why we’re not producing enough. You have to give people the confidence to invest over the long term. What has happened to the fact that we’ve successfully ended oil theft because we don’t talk about it anymore? Was that the case? No more pipeline breaches?
“What about the cost of production in Nigeria? I think it’s one of the highest in the world. The cost of doing business in Nigeria is very high. You can’t compare it to any of our competitors. So, we still have a very long way to go. I think that if the government wants to achieve its 2026 oil targets, it must address the cost of doing business in the oil industry,” he added.
The professor commended the government for some of the recent investment decisions.
“There are lots of good things also. I don’t want to be too negative. I think there are lots of good things the government has done that will take time to achieve its objectives. For instance, Shell’s continuing huge investments into Bonga will be highly profitable; that will increase our numbers, helping our indigenous producers open up marginal fields and get to production quickly.
“All those sitting on oil wells and sitting on licences should show the government their work programmes. If you don’t do your work programme effectively, we’ll remove the lock from you and give it to someone else. So, there are good things also. It’s not all bad news. But the government can do more to ensure that we meet our targets,” he said.
A 0.4 percent increase from the 1.67 million bpd recorded in July saw Nigeria’s crude and condensate production rise to 1,677,777 barrels per day in August 2026.
The growth, disclosed in a statement by Head, Media and Corporate Communications, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Eniola Akinkuotu, on Sunday.
Another interesting aspect of the report is that it shows Nigeria’s consistent compliance with the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) crude oil quota for the fourth consecutive month.
READ ALSO: Rufai Oseni Row: NiDCOM Breaks Silence on Nigerians Detained in India, Addresses Ekene’s Case
According to the regulator, crude oil production, excluding condensates, stood at 1,500,190 barrels per day in August.
The report revealed that Nigeria meeting her OPEC quota for the fourth consecutive month, reflects continued efforts by operators to restore affected production capacity and address operational bottlenecks.
The latest increase followed the resolution of operational challenges involving the Single Buoy Mooring at the Erha field, which had affected production performance in the preceding month.
The NUPRC said the restoration of normal evacuation and production operations at the asset contributed positively to the overall output recorded during the month.
The statement read, “The NUPRC attributed the modest improvement in August production largely to the resolution of the Single Buoy Mooring operational challenges at the Erha field, which had adversely impacted production performance in the preceding month.
“The restoration of normal evacuation and production operations at the asset contributed positively to overall production volumes during the period under review.”
The regulator added that production activities across most other producing assets remained relatively stable, with operators sustaining measures aimed at improving efficiency, maintaining asset integrity and reducing operational disruptions.
According to the commission, the lowest daily crude oil and condensate production recorded in August was 1.64 million bpd, while the highest stood at 1.71 million bpd.
A breakdown of production by terminals and streams showed that the Bonny Terminal recorded the highest average output during the month, accounting for 320.04 thousand bpd.
Forcados Terminal followed with 317.40 thousand bpd, while the Qua Iboe Terminal recorded an average of 171.72 thousand bpd of crude oil and condensates.
Escravos Oil Terminal posted a daily average of 131.71 thousand bpd, while Bonga ranked fifth among the leading producing terminals with an average of 92.50 thousand bdp of crude oil.
The August output represented an increase of 6,777 bpd from July’s 1,671,000 barrels per day, based on the rounded July figure. It was also 57,621 bpd, lower than the 1,735,398 bpd recorded in June.
The June figure represented a decline of about 3.3 per cent in August when compared with the latest available June production data.
The NUPRC said the August performance reflected the industry’s continued efforts to resolve operational constraints and restore affected production capacity.
It stated, “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 regulator further emphasised the importance of timely intervention, effective asset management and collaboration among industry stakeholders in safeguarding the country’s crude oil production capacity.
Nigeria’s oil production has remained a major focus of government efforts to increase revenue, improve foreign exchange earnings and strengthen the country’s ability to meet its OPEC production quota.
Alhaji Aliko Dangote, President, Dangote Industries Limited (DIL), Aliko Dangote, has assured small-scale investors eager to own equities through his refinery’s Initial Public Offering ((IPO) that they would be prioritised in the allocation of shares.
He delivered his message in Hausa during an interview with Abis Fulani, which was translated by Google Gemini, while discussing the planned IPO and its potential benefits to investors.
The interview was published on Thursday but gained traction on Saturday.
According to Dangote, retail investors seeking to buy shares worth N50,000, N100,000 and other smaller amounts would receive priority over large institutional investors.
READ ALSO: DPRP Set for Landmark IPO to Raise ₦2.15 Trillion
He said, “When you do something like this—what is called an IPO—all the small-scale investors are the ones who will be given priority first.
“The big institutional investors who request large allocations will not get everything they ask for. But the small retail investors who want to buy N50,000 worth, or some buying N100,000 worth, and so on, they are the ones who will be given priority allocations.”
He said the remaining shares would subsequently be distributed among investors.
On the potential value of the shares, Dangote said the current N525 price could increase substantially, projecting that it could eventually reach N10,000.
He said, “As I was saying, this share, if you look at it, we are currently at N525. A day will come when this share will reach N10,000.
“Therefore, if you hold it, having bought it, and it rises to N10,000, where you previously invested N5m, it will now be worth over N50m. You see, you have become wealthy.”
Dangote further said shareholders could choose to receive dividends in either naira or dollars, saying the option could help investors cope with currency depreciation.
He said the dollar option would be particularly useful to Nigerians with financial obligations abroad, including parents with children studying in the United Kingdom.
Dangote said, “The benefit of buying it is that holding this share will not prevent you from carrying out your regular work. You hold this share, and when dividends are paid, you won’t need to fear currency devaluation.
“That is because you can choose to receive your dividend in Naira or in Dollars. If you have a child studying at a school in England, for example, even if there is economic instability or currency devaluation—may God protect us—having this means what you receive is in Dollars.”
He recalled the sharp depreciation of the naira against the dollar, saying the exchange rate had risen from about N400 to the dollar to N1,800.
“So your child won’t have to… avoid exchange rate shocks, like when rates moved from N400 up to N1,800.
“Most children were brought back home as a result. So what we want to prevent is that kind of situation,” he said.
The Dangote Refinery IPO comprises 4.1 billion ordinary shares priced at N525 each. A full subscription is expected to raise about N2.15tn, while the minimum subscription is 10 shares, costing N5,250. The offer is scheduled to run from September 14 to October 13, 2026.
After the offer closes, applications will be processed and investors will be informed of their allotments. Applying for a particular number of shares does not guarantee that an investor will receive the full amount requested, particularly if the offer is oversubscribed.
The shares are expected to be listed on the Nigerian Exchange Main Board after the allotment process, after which their market price will be determined by demand and supply.
While Dangote projected that the shares could eventually reach N10,000, the N525 offer price does not guarantee a future market price or return.
The share price could rise or fall after listing depending on the company’s performance, investor sentiment, refining margins, demand and broader economic conditions.
The IPO proceeds are expected to support the refinery’s expansion, with the company planning to increase its refining capacity from about 650,000–700,000 barrels per day to 1.4 million barrels per day.
FIRST Exploration & Petroleum Development Company Limited and the NNPC Limited/FIRST E&P Joint Venture, in partnership with the Health Emergency Initiative, have trained over 100 secondary school students and teachers from public schools in Bayelsa State on first aid, cardiopulmonary resuscitation and other emergency response skills.
The two-day training, held in Yenagoa, was aimed at equipping the participants with basic lifesaving skills to provide immediate assistance to victims of emergencies before the arrival of professional medical help.
READ ALSO: Dangote Discloses Strong Global Scramble for Refinery Stock
Speaking during the programme, the Executive Director and founder of HEI, Paschal Achunine, said the initiative was designed to change the attitude of bystanders who often resort to recording emergencies on social media instead of taking steps to save lives.
Achunine said the programme had been implemented in several states, adding that participants were expected to transfer the knowledge acquired to other students and members of their communities.
“Our expectation is that as opposed to the current practice, where people take pictures and videos and put it on social media when an emergency happens, we’ll see more proactive response, a robust response from young people,” he said.
He said the participants were trained in basic first aid, CPR and other pre-hospital emergency skills, adding that timely intervention could improve the survival chances of accident victims and people suffering cardiovascular emergencies.
“We’ve seen a lot of high-profile people, young persons, adults, who slumped, and some were in their office, some were on the road, and people around were pouring water, doing nothing positive to save or to offer them CPR. So this is to change that story,” Achunine said.
The HEI founder noted that road traffic crashes accounted for a significant number of deaths among young people, stressing that equipping students with emergency response skills could help reduce preventable deaths.
He also disclosed that more than 30 per cent of deaths in Nigeria occurred during the pre-hospital stage, describing the training as a proactive intervention to address the challenge.
According to him, HEI had operated a post-crash care programme since 2017 in partnership with organisations, including the Federal Road Safety Corps and hospitals, providing up to N100,000 deposit support for critically injured crash victims taken to hospitals.
He said the first responder training would complement the post-crash intervention by ensuring that appropriate lifesaving measures were taken before victims reached medical facilities.
“This is a further sweetener to ensure that not only when people are critical, but at the early phase of that pre-hospital emergency, more lives can be saved,” he said.
Achunine further disclosed that HEI had partnered with the Nigeria Educational Research and Development Council to integrate emergency health education into the school curriculum.
He said approval had been obtained from the relevant authorities to introduce the programme into composite subjects in primary and secondary schools.
“In the coming months, in the new academic year, we’ll start seeing emergency health education, which is a more robust version of this training conducted in parts and conducted with practical applications in secondary and primary schools,” he said.
Also speaking, the Executive Director, Corporate Services, FIRST E&P, Emmanuel Etomi, said the company supported the initiative because timely intervention during emergencies could determine whether a victim survived.
“During a medical emergency, road traffic accident, cardiac arrest, or other life-threatening incident, the difference between life and death can be measured in minutes,” Etomi said.
He said there was a need to ensure that people in communities knew what to do before professional help arrived, adding that the trained students and teachers could serve as first points of assistance during emergencies in schools, homes and communities.
Etomi described the training as an investment in community resilience, saying the knowledge acquired could turn helplessness into informed action and potentially save lives.
He also disclosed that HEI was among the five inaugural beneficiaries of Impact FIRST: Heritage, a multi-year funding programme launched by the NNPC Limited/FIRST E&P Joint Venture to support organisations with proven impact and sustainable delivery models.
Etomi commended the Bayelsa State Government and HEI for bringing the programme to the state, expressing optimism that the partnership would help deepen and expand its impact.
Nigeria Meets OPEC Quota for Fourth Consecutive Month
Rufai Oseni Row: NiDCOM Breaks Silence on Nigerians Detained in India, Addresses Ekene’s Case
BRICS 2026: Modi Seeks More Nigerian Crude as Shettima Meets Indian PM
Two Arrested as Delta Police Uncover Cache of Illegal Weapons
Horror in Enugu as Uncompleted Four-Storey Building Collapses
State Security: Adeleke Tasks Residents on Alertness, Threats Reporting
Trump’s Family Unveils New Cryptocurrency Platform
Senate Denies Receiving Petitions Against Tinubu’s Ambassadorial Nominees
Dangote Cement Lights Up Benue Host Communities With CSR Initiatives
Reps Recommend 3-year Jail Term For Aviation minister
Tems Sets New Record On Billboard Hot 100 Chart
