By Stella Odueme
Nigeria’s crude oil and condensate production rose marginally to 1.68 million barrels per day (mbpd) in August 2026, as the country recorded its fourth consecutive month of compliance with its Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) production quota.
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), in its latest monthly production report, put the country’s average daily output at 1,677,777 barrels, representing a 0.4 per cent increase over the previous month.
The regulator disclosed that crude oil production, excluding condensates, averaged 1,500,190 barrels per day during the period under review.
Erha Field Drives Production Recovery
The NUPRC attributed the increase in production largely to the resolution of operational challenges at the Single Buoy Mooring (SBM) facility of the Erha field.
According to the commission, the challenges had affected production in the previous month, while the restoration of normal crude evacuation and production operations at the field helped improve August’s output.
Combined crude oil and condensate production fluctuated between 1.64 million and 1.71 million barrels per day throughout the month.
The commission said production levels across most other assets remained relatively stable, as operators continued efforts to improve efficiency, maintain asset integrity and reduce operational disruptions.
Bonny Terminal Records Highest Output
A breakdown of production by terminals and streams showed that Bonny Terminal led the country’s production chart in August, averaging 320.04 thousand barrels per day (kbpd).
Forcados Terminal ranked second with 317.40kbpd, followed by Qua Iboe Terminal, which recorded 171.72kbpd of crude oil and condensates.
Escravos Oil Terminal produced an average of 131.71kbpd, while Bonga ranked fifth among the leading producing terminals with 92.50kbpd of crude oil.
The NUPRC said routine production and crude evacuation activities continued across the industry, contributing to the modest rise in national output.
Regulator Calls for Sustained Efficiency
Despite the increase, the upstream regulator emphasised the need for sustained efforts to address operational bottlenecks and restore affected production capacity.
It stressed that timely intervention in production challenges, effective asset management and stronger collaboration among industry stakeholders were essential to protecting and expanding Nigeria’s crude oil production capacity.
The commission added that maintaining these measures would be critical to sustaining production gains and strengthening Nigeria’s position in the global oil market.