Crude oil production rose to 1.51 million barrels per day (bpd) in Africa’s largest economy in December 2024, the highest production level for Nigeria in four years.
According to tanker tracking data compiled by Bloomberg, Nigeria’s output increased by 40,000 bpd in December to exceed OPEC’s quota for the month.
Building on this momentum, Nigeria has set an ambitious target of producing 2.06 million bpd in 2025, including blended and unblended condensates.
Achieving this goal will depend on sustaining the progress made through enhanced security measures and strategic investments in the oil and gas sector.
The African Energy Chamber’s State of African Energy 2025 Outlook said “West Africa continues to remain the major driver of oil supply, producing around 3.7 million bpd of oil currently. With sustained production from Angola and a recovery from Nigeria, the region could produce between 3.8 – 3.9 million bpd.”
The report also said sustaining the current progress will depend on curtailing pipeline vandalism.
“The gradual increase hinges majorly on the curtailment of pipeline vandalism and oil thefts in Nigeria, and a more stable environment in Sudan which also affects South Sudan’s production,” it added.
In October 2024, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited pumped 1.8 million bpd amid enhanced security efforts under Operation Delta Safe.
These efforts are expected to continue to drive improvements with a 2025 production goal of 1.7 million bpd.
The country’s oil industry is also buoyed by major investment projects such as Shell’s $5 billion Bonga North deep-water project.
This initiative is projected to sustain production at the Bonga Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) facility with an estimated 110,000 bpd peak production and over 300 million barrels of recoverable oil equivalent.
Heineken Lokpobiri, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), said “We have also eliminated bureaucratic bottlenecks in licensing, facilitated capacity building for indigenous players, and introduced numerous reforms too extensive to list. Reflecting on this journey, it is evident we have made remarkable strides.”
