Nigeria’s state-owned oil company, NNPC Limited, recorded a profit after tax of 462 billion in May 2026. This figure represents a 19 billion decline from the 481 billion reported in April, despite improvements in crude oil production, natural gas output, and pipeline availability.
The company’s latest monthly report summary, published on Wednesday, indicated that the May profit was 3.95 per cent lower than the previous month’s performance. Revenue also declined significantly during the period, with NNPC reporting 4.335 trillion in May, down by about 635 billion from the 4.97 trillion recorded in April.
According to the report, cumulative statutory payments to the Federation between January and May stood at 4.858 trillion.
Production and Operational Challenges
Combined crude oil and condensate production rose to 1.73 mbpd in May, marking the highest monthly output recorded by the company in the past 12 months. Crude oil production increased to 1.47 mbpd, while condensate production remained steady at 0.25 mbpd.
This increase signifies a gradual recovery from production lows experienced late last year, which were attributed to crude theft, pipeline vandalism, operational downtime, and ageing infrastructure. Despite the improvement, NNPC stated that production remained below target due to persistent operational constraints.
These constraints include declining reservoir pressure, underperforming oil wells, lifting constraints, and maintenance activities across several upstream assets. Specifically, challenges were noted at TotalEnergies-operated assets (TEPNG), declining reservoir pressure at the Bonga field, lifting-related curtailments affecting Nembe production, and maintenance activities at the Stardeep Agbami field.
Natural gas production maintained its upward trajectory during May, with average daily gas production rising to 7,774 mmscf/d, the highest level recorded during the review period. This reflects Nigeria’s increasing emphasis on gas as a transition fuel.
However, gas production had previously fallen to 6,284 mmscf/d in September 2025 before steadily recovering in subsequent months. Gas sales eased slightly to 4,921 mmscf/d in May, compared with 5,044 mmscf/d in April and 5,059 mmscf/d in March.
Pipeline Performance and Infrastructure Projects
NNPC’s downstream operations showed mixed performance, with Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) availability at NNPC Retail Limited (NRL) stations at 57 per cent, indicating suboptimal fuel supply across its retail outlets. Conversely, pipeline operations recorded stronger performance.
The Obiafu-Obrikom-Oben (OB3) gas pipeline achieved 97 per cent availability, while the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) pipeline recorded 94 per cent availability. Overall, upstream pipeline availability stood at 98 per cent.
NNPC is implementing measures to improve production and enhance asset reliability by addressing declining reservoir pressure, poor well performance, lifting constraints, maintenance-related shutdowns, and facility reliability issues. Construction of the AKK Gas Pipeline Project’s mainline, equipment installation, and pre-commissioning activities have advanced substantially, with early gas delivery to Abuja expected in 2026.
For the OB3 Gas Pipeline Project, significant progress was reported on the River Niger crossing following pullback operations. The remaining section of the pipeline is expected to be commissioned before the end of the third quarter of 2026. Both gas infrastructure projects are crucial to Nigeria’s strategy for expanding domestic gas utilisation, supporting industrialisation, and improving electricity generation.
