By Abubakar Yunusa
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission on Thursday said the country’s daily crude oil production has climbed to 1.84 million barrels per day.
The commission’s Chief Executive Officer, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, disclosed this during a visit to the Ministry of Finance headquarters in Abuja.
She described the figure as a significant improvement, expressing confidence that production would rise further in the coming months.
“We are doing 1.84 million barrels per day. That is a remarkable feat but I am sure we will do more,” Eyesan said.
Nigeria’s crude oil output had earlier dropped to 1.31 million barrels per day in February, according to data from the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries.
Explaining the decline, Eyesan attributed it to operational setbacks at key facilities and ongoing turnaround maintenance.
She, however, noted that the issues had been resolved, leading to a steady recovery in production levels.
“But all that has been fixed and we are seeing production ramping up,” she added.
The rise in output coincides with a surge in global oil prices, with Brent crude climbing by 79.47 per cent year-to-date, from $60.75 to $109.03 per barrel.
On the 2025 licensing round, the NUPRC boss said the process had progressed to the technical and financial evaluation stage.
She expressed optimism about the sector’s outlook, citing reforms under the Petroleum Industry Act, including the “drill or drop” provision aimed at revoking dormant licences.
Eyesan said some of the oil blocks on offer could begin production within a year, noting the growing capacity of indigenous firms.
She also confirmed that the commission had complied with Executive Order 9 of 2026, which suspends the 30 per cent frontier exploration fund deduction and mandates direct remittance of such revenues into the federation account.
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