Nigeria failed to meet its assigned crude oil production quota for the sixth month in a row, according to the latest report from the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
The OPEC monthly report, released on Wednesday, showed that Nigeria’s crude oil output fell to 1.478 million barrels per day (bpd) in January 2026, marking a 1.27 per cent decline from the 1.497 million bpd recorded in December 2025, based on secondary sources.
The continued underperformance reflects persistent challenges in Nigeria’s oil sector, including infrastructure bottlenecks, crude theft, security issues, and operational inefficiencies across key production regions.
OPEC tracks production through two channels: direct submissions from member countries and secondary sources such as energy intelligence platforms.
While secondary data indicated a decline, figures submitted directly by Nigeria showed a slightly higher output of 1.459 million bpd, up 2.6% from December, though still below the country’s assigned quota of 1.5 million bpd.
Despite missing its quota, Nigeria maintained its status as Africa’s largest oil producer, ahead of Libya, which produced 1.304 million bpd in the same period.
At the broader level, OPEC reported that total crude oil production by members of the Declaration of Cooperation (DoC) averaged 42.448 million bpd in January 2026, a month-on-month decline of 440,000 bpd according to secondary sources.
Analysts warn that Nigeria’s continued shortfall in production could affect its fiscal projections, as the nation depends heavily on oil revenue to fund its budget and support foreign exchange inflows.
