NNPC says reforms lifted oil output to 1.8m barrels a day, eyes 2m by 2027
- NNPC Limited says Nigeria now pumps about 1.8 million barrels of crude daily, up from 1.2 million.
- Its chief executive, Bashir Ojulari, credited the Petroleumetum Industry Act and better investor confidence.
- The company is targeting two million barrels a day by 2027 and more gas for power and industry.
Nigeria's crude oil production has climbed by roughly 600,000 barrels per day, from about 1.2 million to 1.8 million barrels daily, according to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC).
The state oil company's group chief executive, Bashir Ojulari, gave the figure on Tuesday at an energy panel in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, during the 2026 Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference. NNPC's chief corporate communications officer, Andy Odeh, issued a statement on the session.
Ojulari tied the gain to the Petroleum Industry Act of 2021, a friendlier investment climate and closer work with partners. The company is now targeting two million barrels per day by 2027.
For Nigerians, the stakes are direct. Crude sales remain the country's biggest source of foreign exchange, and stronger output supports the naira and government revenue at a time when fuel prices and the cost of living weigh heavily on households.
Nigeria has for years fallen short of its production quota from the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), hit by oil theft, pipeline vandalism, weak investment and operational setbacks.
Ojulari called the current level a milestone rather than the finish line. He said the focus is on keeping infrastructure running, guarding existing output and pushing new projects through.
"The figure of 1.8 million barrels per day is a stage in a journey towards our objective," he said.
He also said results, not promises, should be the measure of the company's record.
Gas, pipelines and new investors
On gas, NNPC is aiming for 10 billion standard cubic feet per day by 2027 and 12 billion by 2030. Ojulari said hitting those numbers means growing both home demand and export markets so that extra output translates into real economic gain.
He said the Obiafu-Obrikom-Oben gas pipeline was completed in August 2026, while the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano pipeline should start sending gas to Abuja before the end of the year. That gas is expected to feed power generation, data centres and factories.
On the domestic fuel front, he said more than 400 compressed natural gas (CNG) conversion centres have been set up and over 1,000 trucks that move petroleum products now run on gas, part of efforts to cut transport costs after the petrol subsidy was removed.
Ojulari named TotalEnergies' Ubeta project, Shell's Bonga South-West development and Eni's Zabazaba project as signs of returning investor interest. He said commercial agreements covering about $20bn in investment have been sealed, and that NNPC is talking to the UAE's ADNOC and Chinese investors keen on Nigeria's refineries.
He also pointed to two straight earnings calls by NNPC as part of a push for transparency with investors.
On regional exports, he said countries in the proposed Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline have signed the needed agreements, and that Nigeria, Algeria and Niger have reached an understanding on the Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline.
What happens next
Much depends on whether NNPC can keep ageing infrastructure working and bring new projects online without disruption. The 2027 targets for crude and gas will be the yardstick, and any slip would hit the revenue Nigeria needs to fund its budget.
