NNPC puts Nigeria crude output at 1.8m bpd after reforms

NNPC said Nigeria’s crude production reached about 1.8 million barrels per day after sector reforms, up 600,000 bpd from 1.2 million bpd, Vanguard reported on Nov. 4.

The state oil company’s chief executive, Bashir Bayo Ojulari, gave the figures at ADIPEC in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, tying the increase to the 2021 Petroleum Industry Act and related policy changes.

Ojulari said the Petroleum Industry Act, Nigeria’s 2021 oil-sector law, had helped improve the investment climate and deepen cooperation between NNPC and its partners, according to the Vanguard report distributed by AllAfrica.

“The figure of 1.8 million barrels per day is a stage in a journey towards our objective. We are concentrating on the basics, which are maintaining our infrastructure, protecting base operations and executing the projects that will take production higher,” Ojulari said.

NNPC is aiming for crude output of 2 million bpd by 2027, compared with the reported current level of 1.8 million bpd. Ojulari said the company would seek that increase through infrastructure maintenance, protection of existing production, higher output from producing fields and new projects.

The company’s production claim matters because crude exports remain central to Nigeria’s public finances and foreign-exchange supply. The report did not include independently verified production data or specify how much of the 600,000 bpd increase came from each reform measure.

Ojulari also linked fuel-market changes to a domestic compressed natural gas programme. He said more than 400 CNG conversion centres had been established nationwide and more than 1,000 trucks used to move petroleum products had been converted to run on CNG.

On gas infrastructure, Ojulari said the Obiafu-Obrikom-Oben gas pipeline was completed in August 2026. He said the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano pipeline was expected to supply gas to Abuja before the end of 2026 for power generation, data centres and industrial hubs.

NNPC is targeting national gas production of 10 billion standard cubic feet per day by 2027 and 12 billion standard cubic feet per day by 2030, Ojulari said. A standard cubic foot per day is a measure of gas output volume.

Ojulari said countries participating in the Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline had aligned and signed the necessary agreements. He also said Nigeria, Algeria and Niger had reached alignment on the Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline.

On investment, Ojulari cited TotalEnergies’ Ubeta, Shell’s Bonga South-West and Eni’s Zabazaba developments. He said commercial agreements covering about $20 billion in investments had been concluded, while NNPC was building ties with ADNOC and Chinese investors in Nigerian refineries.

The company is also working with global oilfield service groups to increase domestic capacity, Ojulari said. He said a baseline review of NNPC’s assets and infrastructure had given management a clearer view of the company’s portfolio and areas needing improvement.

“Our track record will be judged by what is done and not by what is said,” Ojulari said, adding that NNPC had held two consecutive earnings calls as part of its accountability efforts.

Source: Vanguard news report distributed by AllAfrica, Nov. 4, 2026.