KEY POINTS
- Nigeria’s crude and condensate output slipped to 1.58 million barrels a day in October due to widespread maintenance and delayed field restarts.
- NNPC recorded higher revenue and more than doubled monthly profit despite the lower crude volumes.
- Work accelerated on major gas pipeline projects, including the AKK line and OB3 River Niger crossing, with completion timelines reaffirmed.
Nigeria’s crude oil production eased in October as facility maintenance across several offshore assets weighed on output, even as the state oil company posted a sharp rise in monthly profit and revenue.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited said crude oil and condensate volumes fell to 1.58 million barrels a day during the month. The figure represents a slight drop from the 1.61 million barrels recorded in September, according to its newly released October operational summary.
The company pointed to a series of planned shutdowns and delayed project start-ups as the main drag on volumes.
The softer crude showing came despite a lift in natural gas output, which climbed to 6.99 million standard cubic feet a day compared with 6.28 million the previous month.
NNPC says planned maintenance, delayed field restart weighed on volumes
The firm underscored that October’s performance must be viewed against a backdrop of wide-ranging technical work across the sector.
It said maintenance activities went ahead at some of the country’s biggest producing assets, including Stardeep’s Agbami field, Esso’s Erha operations, Renaissance’s EA field and the OML 42 cluster. These works, the company added, are expected to run through November and December as operators complete their scheduled checks.
NNPC also cited ongoing maintenance at the Usan field and at Seplat Energy Producing Nigeria Unlimited, alongside delays at West African Exploration and Production Company’s OML 71 and 72, where operations are yet to resume. The situation was further complicated by recent flooding around OML 143, prompting temporary well closures.
Despite the setbacks, the national oil firm said it expects a full recovery in volumes by the middle of December once most of the constraints ease.
On the commercial front, the company delivered an improved set of numbers. Profit after tax for October rose sharply to N447 billion, more than double the N216 billion posted a month earlier.
Revenue also climbed, rising to N5.07 trillion from N4.27 trillion. NNPC said the figure reflects overall group performance, including intercompany transactions.
