OPEC: Nigeria’s crude oil production dropped by 10% to 1.31m bpd in February

By Abubakar Yunusa

Nigeria’s crude oil production fell to 1.31 million barrels per day (bpd) in February, according to the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) data.
In its monthly report yesterday, the oil alliance said the figure represents a 10.69 percent decline from 1.45 million bpd output in the prior month.
According to the oil alliance, its production figures were derived from direct communication with Nigerian authorities.
The OPEC usually sources its crude oil output data from two channels: direct communication from member countries and secondary sources such as energy intelligence platforms.
The latest figures show that Nigeria failed to meet its 1.5 million bpd production quota, falling short by about 190,000 bpd.
However, the global oil organisation said Nigeria sustained its position as Africa’s leading oil producer, surpassing Libya, which recorded an output of 1.28 million bpd.
The oil cartel said data from secondary sources placed Nigeria’s crude production at 1.46 million bpd in February — a 0.68 percent drop from the 1.47 million bpd recorded in January.
Citing secondary sources, the OPEC said member nations’ “total DoC crude oil production averaged 42.72 mb/d in February 2026, which is 445 tb/d higher, m-o-m”.
On March 2, OPEC and its allies agreed to raise oil production by 206,000 bpd from April amid growing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
The Middle East conflict, caused by the war between United States, Israel and Iran, has triggered significant volatility in global markets as crude oil prices crossed a $100 per barrel on March 9 — the highest level since July 2022 — before easing to $87 the next day.
The decline in crude oil production will reduce Nigeria’s oil revenue and prevent the country from fully benefiting from the rising crude oil price.