Nigeria’s energy giant, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has posted a profit after tax of N385bn in January 2026 as crude oil and condensate production rose to 1.64 million barrels per day,
The latest monthly operational report of the NNPCL released on Monday, the state-owned energy company generated N2.571tn in revenue in January, while remitting N726bn as statutory payments to the Nigerian Federation.
The showed a sharp 47 per cent decline in its monthly revenue, which fell from N4.82tn in December 2025 to N2.57tn in January 2026.
The report indicated that production recovery during the month was driven largely by the completion of maintenance work at key offshore assets, particularly the Agbami field, as well as operational improvements in other upstream facilities.
Local media reports, Nigeria produced 1.64 million barrels per day, up from 1.55 million barrels per day recorded in December 2025, representing an increase of 0.09mbpd, or about 5.8 per cent month-on-month.
The reports noted that the development indicates a partial recovery from the production slowdown recorded in the last quarter of 2025, when output had slipped to about 1.54mbpd in October and 1.55mbpd in December.
“Production increased month-on-month following the completion of Turn Around Maintenance at Agbami and Renaissance (Estuary Area – EA),” the reports quoted the NNPCL figures as saying.
However, the company noted that operational challenges still affected crude delivery volumes.
“Despite the improved production profile, planned deliveries for January were reduced due to adverse weather conditions, evacuation constraints, and asset integrity challenges across some production corridors,” the NNPCL said.
The report also showed that natural gas production rose to 7,283 million standard cubic feet per day, representing a rebound from 6,914 mmscf/d recorded in December 2025.
Gas production had fluctuated throughout 2025, reaching a high of about 7,722 mmscf/d in July before declining later in the year due to operational and supply disruptions. This translates to an increase of 369mmscf/d, representing a 5.3 per cent rise month-on-month.
The rebound suggests stronger upstream performance after several months of fluctuations in 2025, when gas production fell sharply to 6,284mmscf/d in September before gradually recovering towards the end of the year.
Despite these fluctuations, gas production in January reflected renewed output stability as infrastructure upgrades and upstream operations improved. Gas sales also strengthened during the period, with the report indicating that the company sold about 4,978 mmscf/d of gas, one of the highest levels recorded within the past year.
The increase of 224mmscf/d represents growth of about 4.7 per cent month-on-month. This suggests improved gas delivery to power plants, industrial users, and export channels.
GIK/APA