•As NUPRC shortlists investors for 50 oil blocks
Nigeria’s oil output, including Condensate, has dropped month-on-month, MoM, by nine per cent to 1.483 million barrels per day, bpd in February 2026 from 1.627 million bpd in January 2026.
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, NUPRC, disclosed this yesterday in its report – Crude Oil and Condensate production .
Also, and on year-on-year, YoY, the report disclosed that the nation’s output dropped to 1.483 million bpd in February 2026 from 1.671 million bpd in the corresponding period of 2025, indicating a decrease of 11 per cent.
The report stated: “Lowest and Peak Combined crude oil and Condensate were 1.52 million bopd and 1.82 million bopd respectively. The average crude oil production represents 95% of OPEC quota (1.5 mbpd).
“Daily average production was 1,544,345 barrels per day, comprising both Crude oil (1,421,960 bopd) and condensate (122,385 bopd).”
The Commission did not state the cause of the continued slide in Nigeria’s oil output but an industry leader that pleaded to be anonymous attributed it to aged facilities and oil theft.
He said: “With the one million programme of the NUPRC, we expected oil output to be rising at this time. The slide in production must be due to many factors, including aged facilities and oil theft in the Niger Delta.”
However, the development showed that the nation did not meet its 1.8 million bpd target of the 2026 budget even though the oil price has remained high at more than $100 per barrel.
The 2026 budget is anchored on conservative assumptions, including a crude oil benchmark of $64.85 per barrel, daily oil production of 1.84 million barrels, and an exchange rate of N1,400 to the dollar for the 2026 fiscal year.
NUPRC shortlists investors for 50 oil blocks
Meanwhile, NUPRC has shortlisted investors that applied for the nation’s 50 oil blocks under its 2025 Licensing Round.
The Commission disclosed that the pre-qualified companies will be granted access to relevant data to prepare for the technical and commercial bid submission stages.
In a statement signed by its Head of Media and Strategic Communication, Eniola Akinkuotu, the Commission said: “The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) wishes to inform the public that it has completed the pre-qualification stage of the 2025 Licensing Round and has notified successful applicants accordingly.
“This was done on March 16, 2026, in line with the 2025 Licensing Round Guidelines.
“With the pre-qualification stage now completed, the Commission will, from March 17, 2026, permit successful applicants to lease data in preparation for the technical and commercial bid submissions.
“Pre-qualified applicants are mandated to lease data only from the two approved sources and upload evidence of payment as a prerequisite for bid submission.”
