By Francis Ajuonuma
Nigeria sustained its compliance with the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) production quota for the sixth consecutive month in October 2026, despite a 1.7 per cent month-on-month decline in crude oil output.
The country produced an average of 1.51 million barrels per day (mbpd) of crude oil, excluding condensates, representing 101 per cent of its 1.5 million barrels per day OPEC quota.
A statement issued on Wednesday by the Head of Media and Corporate Communications, Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Eniola Akinkuotu, said total crude oil and condensate production averaged 1,687,710 barrels per day in October, with daily output peaking at 1.79 million barrels and dropping to a low of 1.60 million barrels.
The figures showed that Nigeria maintained its six-month production record, delivering 1.53 million barrels per day in May, 1.55 million in June, 1.51 million in July, 1.50 million in August, 1.53 million in September and 1.51 million in October.
The commission attributed the sustained performance to improved operational stability, production uptime and crude evacuation efficiency.
It said the October performance reflected the commitment of operators and industry stakeholders to improving operational efficiency, maintaining asset integrity and enhancing production reliability.
A breakdown of production by terminals showed that Forcados led with 318.49 thousand barrels per day (kbpd), followed by Bonny with 311.02kbpd.
Qua Iboe recorded 173.97kbpd, while Escravos posted 134.67kbpd. Bonga ranked fifth with an average daily production of 106.65kbpd.
The commission said improved operational efficiency remained critical to sustaining production growth across the upstream petroleum sector.
