Nigeria’s crude oil production has climbed to 1.821 million barrels per day (bpd), including condensates, signalling increased activity in the country’s upstream petroleum sector, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has said.
The Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL, Bayo Ojulari, disclosed this on Thursday at the 2026 Association of Energy Correspondents of Nigeria (NAEC) Conference in Lagos.
Speaking on behalf of the NNPCL chief, the company’s Chief Communications Officer, Andy Odeh, attributed the improvement to measures aimed at strengthening the operating environment and accelerating activities in the upstream sector.
Ojulari said the recent production level represented significant progress in efforts to restore and increase Nigeria’s crude output.
“Today, we are doing 1.821 million barrels per day,” he said. “The country has recorded more than 80 per cent success in its efforts to improve production.”
The conference, themed ‘Access To Assets: Empowering Players & Driving Growth’, brought together stakeholders in Nigeria’s petroleum industry to examine measures for expanding investment, increasing production and unlocking the country’s oil and gas potential.
The latest production figure comes amid renewed efforts by the Federal Government and industry regulators to address challenges that have historically constrained investment and production in the upstream sector.
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, had, earlier in the week, linked the recent improvement in crude production to stronger collaboration between government and industry stakeholders, as well as efforts to remove bottlenecks that had hindered investment.
Speaking in Abuja during the fifth anniversary commemoration of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Lokpobiri said increased drilling activity was also contributing to the growth in production.
According to the minister, the number of active oil rigs has risen from fewer than 10 when the current administration assumed office to more than 70.
He said sustained drilling would remain critical to increasing production and moving Nigeria towards its target of approximately three million barrels per day.
Lokpobiri also maintained that Nigeria’s large petroleum reserves would only generate greater economic value if the government continued to create an enabling environment for investment and awarded licences to investors with the required financial and technical capacity.
The latest NNPCL figure represents further growth from the production recorded in August.
Data showed that Nigeria produced an average of 1,677,777 barrels of crude oil and condensate per day in August 2026, representing a 0.4 per cent increase from the July level.
The rise to 1.821 million bpd, as announced by NNPCL, therefore points to a notable increase in output over the period, although production figures can fluctuate due to operational conditions, maintenance, security challenges and other factors affecting upstream activities.
For an economy heavily dependent on petroleum revenues and exports, sustained growth in crude production remains important to government revenue, foreign exchange earnings and broader economic activity.
The Federal Government has in recent months placed renewed emphasis on increasing production by improving the investment climate, expanding drilling activities and reducing barriers to access to petroleum assets.
Industry stakeholders are expected to continue focusing on measures that can sustain the production gains, attract fresh investment and enable Nigeria to move closer to its longer-term crude production ambitions.