- Lawmakers Express Concern Over $12.74 Million Revenue Loss
Nigeria’s oil production dropped further in February, raising concerns about the country’s ability to meet both its budget targets and OPEC production quotas.
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) reported that output fell to 1.4 million barrels per day (bpd), well below the budget benchmark of 2.06 million bpd and the OPEC quota of 1.5 million bpd.
This decline comes as global oil prices remain below Nigeria’s budgeted $75 per barrel, exacerbating the risk of a widening fiscal deficit. The House of Representatives has urged the Presidency to take immediate action to rehabilitate the nation’s oil and gas pipeline network to curb further economic losses.
In February, Nigeria, including private operators, produced approximately 41 million barrels of oil, generating an estimated $3 billion at an average price of $74 per barrel. However, this represents a decrease from January’s 47.7 million barrels. The country’s daily average output for February stood at 1.67 million bpd, comprising 1.47 million bpd of crude oil and 206,948 bpd of condensates.
The NUPRC data also showed a decline in production across major terminals. The Forcados Terminal, which recorded the highest output, produced 7.75 million barrels in February, down from 8.86 million in January.
Similarly, Bonny Terminal’s output fell from 8.1 million to 6.3 million barrels, while Qua Iboe dropped from 4.6 million to 4.28 million barrels. Other terminals, including Escravos, Obudu, and Tulja–Okwuibome, also reported lower production figures.
The House resolution calling for urgent intervention followed a motion sponsored by Deputy Chairman of the House Committee on Sustainable Development Goals, Muhammed Shehu, and 14 others. Shehu emphasized that the oil and gas sector remains the backbone of Nigeria’s economy, contributing around 9% to GDP and over 90% of export revenue.
He highlighted that between 2018 and 2023, Nigeria recorded over 7,000 incidents of pipeline vandalism, leading to losses of $12.74 million worth of crude oil. In October 2024, sabotage reduced crude oil supply to Shell’s Forcados Terminal by 50%, causing shipment delays and raising the risk of force majeure declarations.
The House has mandated an ad hoc committee to assess the effectiveness of existing security and maintenance measures for petroleum infrastructure and evaluate past and present government interventions aimed at securing Nigeria’s oil pipelines.
