Nigeria’s Oil Output Falls to 1.546m bpd in July

Nigeria’s crude oil production fell by 37,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 1.546 million bpd in July 2026, according to OPEC.

The figure, which excludes condensate, declined from 1.583 million bpd in June and represents a 2.3 per cent monthly drop. OPEC’s latest Monthly Oil Market Report, based on secondary sources, showed that Nigeria remained one of Africa’s major oil producers despite the decline.

Nigeria’s crude oil production averaged 1.453 million bpd in the first quarter of 2026 before rising to 1.552 million bpd in the second quarter. Output reached 1.554 million bpd in May and climbed to 1.583 million bpd in June, its highest monthly level during the period, before falling in July.

OPEC’s direct communication data showed an even larger decline, with Nigerian output dropping by 50,000 bpd, from 1.555 million bpd in June to 1.505 million bpd in July.

Across OPEC, crude production based on secondary sources increased by 1.659 million bpd to 23.632 million bpd in July. Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait led the increase, with their output rising by 665,000 bpd, 590,000 bpd and 393,000 bpd respectively.

Production from OPEC Declaration of Cooperation countries reached 37.655 million bpd, up 1.424 million bpd from June. Non-OPEC DoC producers, however, recorded a 235,000 bpd decline.

Separately, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) reported a four per cent fall in Nigeria’s combined crude oil and condensate production, from 1.74 million bpd in June to 1.67 million bpd in July.

NUPRC recorded crude output of 1.505 million bpd and condensate production of 0.17 million bpd. Combined production peaked at 1.78 million bpd and fell as low as 1.57 million bpd during the month.

The regulator attributed the decline to operational challenges at the Erha and Akpo fields, which constrained production and significantly affected national output.

Can Nigeria reverse the July decline and sustain stronger crude production in the coming months?