Nigeria’s crude oil production increased to 1.53 million barrels per day (bpd) in May, exceeding OPEC’s 1.5 million bpd quota, the oil cartel confirmed on Thursday in its Monthly Oil Market Report for May.
The figure represents a 3.38 per cent increase from the 1.48 million bpd recorded in April.
According to the cartel, Nigeria’s oil production figures were derived from direct communication with Nigerian authorities.
The latest figures show that Nigeria exceeded the 1.5 million bpd production quota approved by OPEC.
Data from secondary sources showed that Nigeria’s crude oil production stood at 1.51 million bpd in May, representing a 0.66 per cent decrease from the 1.52 million bpd recorded in April.
Citing secondary sources, OPEC said member countries participating in the Declaration of Cooperation (DoC) recorded average crude oil production of 33.13 million barrels per day (mb/d) in May 2026, which was 0.19 mb/d lower month-on-month.
In November 2025, OPEC extended Nigeria’s crude oil production quota of 1.5 million barrels per day until December 2026.
On April 8, Bashir Ojulari, Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, said crude oil production had risen from a low of 960,000 bpd in 2022 to an average of 1.71 million bpd.
Ojulari also said crude oil output reached a peak of 1.84 million bpd in 2025.
The GCEO attributed the increase in production to the establishment of an integrated energy security model for pipelines in the Niger Delta.
According to Ojulari, the gains were not accidental but the result of coordinated efforts to tackle crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism.
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