Nigeria has again failed to meet the 1.5 million barrels per day crude oil production quota approved by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) amid persistent challenges in the country’s oil sector.

In its National Liquid Hydrocarbon Production Report released on Tuesday, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) said the country’s average daily crude oil production stood at about 1.4 million barrels per day, representing 99 per cent of the quota approved by OPEC.

However, total oil production, including condensates, rose to about 1.6 million barrels per day in April.

This comes amid efforts by the federal government and industry operators to ramp up production to 2 million barrels per day to boost revenue, strengthen foreign exchange earnings, and support the implementation of the 2026 budget.

Nigeria’s total oil output remained below the 1.84 million barrels per day benchmark adopted in the 2026 budget, while the country also failed to consistently meet its crude oil production quota approved by OPEC.

The figures indicate that Nigeria has remained below its OPEC allocation for the ninth straight month since July 2025.

The NUPRC document showed that crude oil and condensate production peaked at 1.85 million barrels per day during the month, while the lowest output stood at 1.46 million barrels per day.

Although oil output improved marginally to 1.6 million barrels per day in April from the 1.55 million barrels per day recorded in March, it remained below Nigeria’s quota approved by OPEC.

Nigeria’s crude production in March was 1.38 million barrels per day. However, although crude oil production increased by 69,000 barrels per day from the 1.31 million barrels per day recorded in February, it remained 117,000 barrels per day below Nigeria’s quota approved by the organisation.

Moreover, the February figure represented a month-on-month decline of 146,000 barrels per day, further widening the country’s shortfall from its quota approved by the organisation’s production allocation.

The country recorded an improvement in January, with production rising from 1.422 million barrels per day in December 2025 to 1.46 million barrels per day. However, the rebound was short-lived as output fell significantly in February 2026.

Data from the NUPRC also showed that crude oil production weakened from 1.436 million barrels per day in November 2025 to 1.422 million barrels per day in December before recovering slightly in January.

In 2025, Nigeria failed to meet the OPEC crude oil production quota in nine months, meeting or slightly exceeding the target only in January, June, and July.

The year opened strongly, with output at 1.54 million barrels per day in January, about 38,700 barrels per day above its allocation. However, production fell below the quota in February at 1.47 million barrels per day and declined further to 1.40 million barrels per day in March.