Nigeria’s oil production in April 2023 dropped below the one million barrels per day (bpd) mark, reaching 998,602 bpd, according to the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).

This represents a significant decline of 21.26 percent compared to the previous month’s output of 1,268,202 bpd. The latest crude oil and condensate production data from the NUPRC reveals that this production volume is the lowest recorded in the past seven months.

In the previous year, Nigeria experienced a similar drop in oil production below one million bpd in August and September due to various factors, including incidents of oil theft.

The NUPRC report also highlights a decline in oil production from 1.517 million bpd in March 2023 to 1.245 million bpd in April 2023 when condensate is included.

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Gbenga Komolafe, the CEO of NUPRC, noted that the current oil production is approximately one million bpd below the country’s technically allowable capacity.

Komolafe attributed this decrease to several challenges, including the impact of the energy transition on hydrocarbon funding, insufficient investments, and security concerns.

While the commission is focused on increasing oil and gas production to maximize revenue, these efforts have been hindered by the aforementioned challenges.

Nigeria currently has the capacity to produce around 2.5 million bpd, but the existing production level stands at approximately 1.5 million bpd when accounting for oil and condensate.