NUPRC: PENGASSAN Strike, Maintenance Shutdowns Caused 3% Drop in Nigeria’s Oil Output

Nigeria’s crude oil production slipped by three percent in September 2025, falling to 1.58 million barrels per day (bpd) from 1.63 million bpd recorded in August, according to data released by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) on Saturday.

The Commission attributed the decline to the three-day strike action carried out by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) toward the end of September.

In its report, NUPRC revealed that average daily crude oil output (excluding condensates) fell to 1.39 million bpd, which is below both the 1.5 million bpd quota set by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and the 1.43 million bpd achieved in August.

According to a statement signed by Eniola Akinkuotu, Head of Media and Strategic Communication at NUPRC,

“The 1.581 million barrels per day average production in September comprises 1.39 million bopd of crude oil and 191,373 bopd of condensate.”

The Commission explained that the industrial action by PENGASSAN disrupted operations at several production and export facilities, contributing significantly to the production shortfall.

It also disclosed that scheduled turnaround maintenance at two key facilities further reduced overall output.

“In September, the industry recorded total crude oil and condensate production of 47.43 million barrels, reflecting a modest 1.61% year-on-year increase. This represents a slight improvement from the 1.55 million bopd recorded in the same month of 2024, indicating incremental progress,” the statement read.

However, on a month-on-month basis, production declined by 3.09% compared to August 2025.

Despite the disruptions, NUPRC said average crude oil production in September reached 93% of Nigeria’s OPEC quota.

The report also highlighted production trends across major streams:

• Forcados Blend accounted for 15.86% of total production,
• Bonny Light contributed 13.31%,
• Qua Iboe made up 9.88%,
• Escravos Light contributed 8.96%,
• Bonga Crude delivered 6.83%,
• Agbami Condensate accounted for 4.94%,
• Erha Crude contributed 4.55%, and
• Amenam Blend made up 4.2% of total output.

Peak combined crude and condensate production for the month reached 1.81 million bpd, while the lowest recorded figure was 1.35 million bpd, the NUPRC added.

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