Nigeria: crude oil production reaches 1.5 million barrels per day, a success for OPEC.

Nigeria has taken a major step forward by reaching its production quota of 1.5 million barrels per day (b/d), in line with the targets set by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). This is the first time the country has met this threshold since the ministerial meeting in November 2023.

According to a monthly OPEC report relayed by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Nigerian production recorded an increase of 54,000 b/d compared with December 2024, when it stood at 1.485 million b/d. This increase reflects the efforts made by the government and the oil industry to strengthen the extraction and distribution of black gold.

Faced with Nigeria's difficulties in meeting its target for over a year, OPEC decided in December 2024 to extend its production quota until 2026. This decision was intended to give the country additional leeway to stabilise and increase its production.

The assessment of Nigerian production is based on two main sources: official reports from local authorities and data from independent energy intelligence platforms. These figures confirm that Nigeria is maintaining its position as Africa's leading oil producer.

With 1.5 million b/d produced in January 2025, Nigeria is well ahead of Algeria, which produced 907,000 b/d over the same period. Congo ranks third among African producers, with 251,000 b/d.

Meanwhile, according to secondary sources, overall OPEC-12 and Declaration of Cooperation (DoC) production stood at 40.62 million b/d in January 2025, down 118,000 b/d on the previous month.

This major step forward for Nigeria underlines the country's key role in the African and international oil markets. However, many challenges remain, particularly in terms of infrastructure security and the fight against crude oil theft, which continue to affect national production.