NNPC Oil Production Remains Below May–June Peak Despite September Recovery

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited recorded a modest recovery in oil and gas production in September 2026, but output remained below the levels achieved in May and June as operational disruptions continued to affect production across several assets.

According to the company’s September 2026 Monthly Operations and Financial Report, released on November 3, total hydrocarbon production increased by approximately 1% to 3.04 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (mmboe/d), compared with 3.01 million barrels per day in August.

However, production remained below the 3.07 million barrels of oil equivalent per day recorded in both May and June, indicating that the company has yet to fully recover the production momentum achieved earlier in the year.

A breakdown of September’s production showed that crude oil accounted for approximately 1.45 million barrels per day, while condensate production stood at 243,810 barrels per day.

Combined crude oil and condensate output reached approximately 1.70 million barrels per day, compared with 1.69 million barrels per day in August.

Natural gas contributed an additional 1.34 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, bringing total hydrocarbon production to 3.04 million barrels of oil equivalent per day.

The September recovery was largely supported by the restart of production at Obodo Oil Mining Lease (OML) 150 and other assets, according to the report reviewed by Investors King.

Nevertheless, NNPC acknowledged that production remained constrained by unplanned downtime arising from equipment failures, flowline leaks, subsurface challenges, community protests, storage limitations and disruptions to export infrastructure.

These persistent challenges have continued to affect the company’s ability to maintain consistent production growth despite efforts to restore shut-in wells and improve facility reliability.

A review of NNPC’s monthly production data showed that total hydrocarbon output increased from 2.74 million barrels of oil equivalent per day in December 2025 to 2.89 million in January 2026 before reaching 3.01 million in April.

Production subsequently climbed to 3.07 million barrels per day in May and remained unchanged in June before declining to 2.97 million in July.

Although output recovered to 3.01 million in August and 3.04 million in September, it remained approximately 30,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day below the May–June peak.

The production challenges were also reflected in the company’s crude oil and condensate sales.

Combined sales increased marginally to 24.63 million barrels in September from 24.56 million barrels in August, representing growth of just 0.29%.

The September figure was also approximately 12.8% below the 28.23 million barrels recorded in June.

This suggests that the improvement in production has yet to translate into a substantial recovery in crude oil and condensate sales volumes.

Natural gas production, meanwhile, increased by approximately 1.4% to 7,789 million standard cubic feet per day in September, compared with 7,680 million standard cubic feet per day in August.

However, output remained below the 7,841 million standard cubic feet per day recorded in June, when gas production reached its highest level in the period covered by the report.

Gas sales also improved to 4,793 million standard cubic feet per day from 4,737 million standard cubic feet per day in August but remained below the 5,059 million standard cubic feet per day recorded in March.

The figures indicate that both oil and gas operations have experienced a gradual recovery since July, although neither total hydrocarbon production nor gas sales had returned to their earlier highs.

To address the challenges, NNPC said it was accelerating the restoration of shut-in wells and facilities, optimising production and undertaking well interventions.

The company also identified preventive maintenance, improved facility reliability, stronger community engagement and the resolution of storage and export infrastructure constraints as priorities for sustaining production growth.

On gas infrastructure, NNPC reported that the Obiafu-Obrikom-Oben (OB3) gas pipeline’s River Niger crossing had been commissioned and operationalised.

The Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) gas pipeline was reported to be 95% complete, with construction and pre-commissioning activities continuing towards the planned delivery of early gas to Abuja in 2026.

Despite the operational constraints, NNPC reported N4.61 trillion in revenue and N509 billion in profit after tax for September, highlighting the difference between its financial performance and the pace of production recovery.

However, the published report did not provide sufficient financial details to determine how much of the earnings came from increased production, commodity prices, foreign exchange movements or other business activities.

For Nigeria’s oil and gas industry, the September figures underline the importance of addressing persistent operational disruptions rather than relying solely on the restoration of previously shut-in assets to support production growth.

Sustained improvements in facility reliability, pipeline integrity and export infrastructure will be necessary if NNPC is to maintain production above its earlier peaks and translate higher output into stronger sales volumes.

NNPC cautioned that the production, sales and financial figures remain provisional and subject to reconciliation with relevant stakeholders.