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.
But Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) reduced the petrol pump prices to N1,130 per litre in Lagos and N1,165 in Abuja.
OPEC, in its monthly report released on Thursday, said Nigeria’s oil production figure represented a 10.69 per cent decline from 1.45 million bpd output in the prior month.
The oil cartel said its production figures were derived from direct communication with Nigerian authorities.
OPEC usually sourced its crude oil output data from two channels: direct communication from member countries and secondary sources, such as energy intelligence platforms.
The latest figures showed 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 per cent drop from the 1.47 million bpd recorded in January.
Citing secondary sources, OPEC said member nations’ “total DoCcrude 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 United States-Israeli war on Iran had 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 prices.
Meanwhile, NNPC Limited slashed the price of petrol at its retail outlets to N1,130 per litre in Lagos and N1,165 per litre in Abuja.
The price dropped by N100 from N1,230 per litre in Lagos and by N95 from N1,260 per litre in Abuja.
Other marketers also cut their retail prices in response to the earlier gantry and coastal price reductions by Dangote Refinery following the drop in crude oil prices.
Peter Uzoho
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