Nigeria’s crude oil production dipped to 1.4mbpd in March 2025, from 1.46mbpd in the previous month, the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has disclosed.
However, the country retained its position as the largest crude oil producer in Africa despite the decline in output.
This was contained in the cartel’s Monthly Oil Market Report (MOMR) released on Monday, April 14, 2025.
According to the report, despite the decline, Nigeria’s oil output was the largest in Africa, surpassing Algeria and Congo.
OPEC said its data was based on direct communication.
Sustaining the momentum from February, Nigeria surpassed Algeria, which produced 909,000 bpd and Congo, which recorded 263,000 bpd.
However, according to data sourced from secondary sources, OPEC said Nigeria produced 1.51 million bpd in March as against 1.54 million bpd in February.
“Total DoC crude oil production averaged 41.02 mb/d in March 2025, which is 37 tb/d lower, m-o-m,” OPEC said.
On April 12, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) said the country’s oil production decreased to 1,400,783 bpd in March.
Although oil output dropped in March, NUPRC said the average crude oil production is 93 per cent of the 1.5mbpd quota set for Nigeria by OPEC.
On April 4, OPEC and its allies decided to increase oil production by 411,000 bpd in May amid declining oil prices, which threatens the implementation of Nigeria’s 2025 budget.
By: Babajide Okeowo
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