Nigeria recorded a strong rebound in oil production in April 2026, with combined daily average crude oil and condensate output rising to 1.663 million barrels per day.
This is according to the latest figures released by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission.
The latest production level represents a significant increase from the 1.546 million barrels per day recorded in March, indicating renewed momentum in upstream operations and improved performance across major oil assets.
Data from the commission showed that crude oil production alone stood at 1.488 million barrels per day in April, bringing Nigeria close to fully meeting its 1.5 million barrels per day production quota allocated by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.
According to the NUPRC’s Crude Oil and Condensate Production Report, Nigeria’s total liquids production increased by 7.58 per cent month-on-month in April.
The report showed that:
Crude oil production stood at 1.488 million barrels per day.
Blended and unblended condensates contributed 174,873 barrels per day.
Total liquids production rose to 1.663 million barrels per day from 1.546 million barrels per day in March.
Nigeria achieved about 99.2 per cent of its OPEC production quota.
Production fluctuated between a low of 1.46 million barrels per day and a peak of 1.85 million barrels per day during the month.
The report also highlighted strong performances from major export streams and offshore assets.
Among the top-performing crude streams:
Bonga recorded 3.06 million barrels in April.
Erha contributed 2.05 million barrels.
Anyala-Madu (CJ Blend) posted 1.81 million barrels.
Utapate delivered 1.78 million barrels.
Egina produced 1.47 million barrels.
Cawthorne crude rose to 929,055 barrels during the month.
On the condensate side:
Agbami condensate delivered 2.01 million barrels.
Akpo condensate contributed 1.34 million barrels.
Tulja-Okwuibome condensate recorded 304,827 barrels.
The latest figures extend the upward production trend recorded since the beginning of the year despite intermittent operational and security challenges affecting key production corridors.
April’s output represents Nigeria’s strongest average daily oil production so far in 2026.
Analysts linked the improvement to enhanced field performance, improved operational efficiency, gradual restoration of previously disrupted assets, and the introduction of newer export grades such as Cawthorne crude.
The introduction of the Cawthorne export stream forms part of broader efforts by Nigeria to diversify crude grades and strengthen production growth.
The increase in output also comes as the Federal Government intensifies reforms aimed at improving transparency in the oil sector, boosting foreign exchange inflows, and increasing federation revenues.
Earlier in April, the Commission Chief Executive of the NUPRC, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, disclosed that Nigeria’s crude oil production had increased by about 40.5 per cent to 1.84 million barrels per day in March.
The NUPRC had also reported that Nigeria supplied 28.5 million barrels of crude oil to domestic refineries in the first quarter of 2026, significantly below the 61.9 million barrels allocated for the period.
In late March, Nairametrics reported that Nigeria recorded a crude oil and condensate production shortfall of about 16.6 million barrels in the first two months of 2026.
