NIGERIA’s crude oil production increased to 1.507 million barrels per day (bpd) in July 2025, surpassing the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’ (OPEC) 1.5 million daily production quota.

This is the second consecutive month Nigeria’s crude oil output has surpassed the OPEC quota.

The oil cartel revealed this in its latest Monthly Oil Market Report released on Tuesday, August 12.

It stated that the average crude oil production figures were obtained through direct communication with Nigerian authorities.

According to OPEC, it typically sources its crude oil output data from two channels – direct communication with member countries and secondary sources such as energy intelligence platforms.

With the current production level, Nigeria’s crude oil output increased from 1.505 million bpd in June to 1.507 million bpd in July.

It showed that the country maintained its position as Africa’s leading oil producer, followed by Algeria, which recorded an output of 937,000 bpd.

It noted, “Nigeria’s economy continued to grow at a solid pace in 1Q25 (first quarter of 2025), though with a slight deceleration, as real GDP  (gross domestic product) expanded by 3.1%, y-o-y (year-on-year), down from 3.8% in 4Q24 (fourth quarter 2024) and 3.9% in 3Q24 (third quarter 2024).”

Despite meeting its OPEC daily crude oil quota, Nigeria is still far from meeting its crude oil benchmark target of 2.06 million bpd.

There has also been concern that crude oil prices have remained relatively below the $75 per barrel budgetary benchmark.

A recent report by The ICIR pointed to this as it is causing a strain on crude oil revenue that makes up a significant portion of the 2025 budget.

Further worries are that Nigeria relies hugely on the proceeds from crude oil to fund a large chunk of its yearly budget.

Also, the inability to meet the crude oil budget benchmark amid continued crude oil prices below the fixed benchmark rate poses an implementation challenge and setback for the country, The ICIR had earlier reported.

Last week, the chief executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Gbenga Komolafe, said Nigeria’s oil production surpassed 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) in July, averaging 1.78 million bpd.

However, the improved crude oil production figure, which he attributed largely to a possible step-up in security operations, remains far below the 2.06 million bpd target for this year.