Nigeria Oil: Production, Reserves & Role in the Market
Nigeria produces about 1.61 million barrels of crude per day (2025) and holds ~37.5 billion barrels of proven reserves (#11 worldwide). Africa's leading oil exporter for most of the past two decades, Nigeria has repeatedly struggled to hit its own OPEC quota amid pipeline theft and sabotage — even as the new Dangote refinery threatens to reshape it from a crude exporter into a fuel exporter.
Key Figures
| Measure | Value | As of / source |
|---|---|---|
| Crude production (#14 of tracked) | 1.61 Mb/d | 2025 · EIA |
| Proven reserves (#11 worldwide) | 37.5 Bn bbl | 2023 · OPEC Annual Statistical Bulletin |
| National oil company | NNPC Ltd (Nigerian National Petroleum Company) | |
| Key export grade | Bonny Light — light sweet, historically a benchmark grade | |
| Theft & sabotage | Pipeline theft and vandalism are a persistent drag on output, with losses often estimated at hundreds of thousands of b/d | NNPC / Reuters |
| Dangote refinery | 650,000 b/d refinery — Africa's largest — reshaping Nigeria from crude exporter toward products exporter | Dangote Group |
Rankings and comparisons: world production & consumption · reserves by country · OPEC production · biggest oil companies.
Nigeria's Underproduction Problem
Theft, sabotage and underinvestment
- Nigeria has frequently produced well below its OPEC quota — not from lack of reserves, but from pipeline vandalism, illegal tapping and aging onshore infrastructure.
- Security costs and community disputes in the Niger Delta have discouraged the upstream investment needed to close the gap.
- Offshore fields, less exposed to onshore sabotage, have become a growing share of output relative to legacy onshore fields.
What to watch
- Ramp-up of the Dangote refinery, which could cut Nigeria's long-standing paradox of exporting crude while importing refined fuel.
- OPEC+ quota compliance and any renegotiation of Nigeria's baseline given its chronic underproduction.
- Security conditions in the Niger Delta and any improvement in pipeline integrity.
Position Within OPEC
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Rank among OPEC members (crude output) | #5 of 11 |
| Crude production, 2025 | 1.61 Mb/d |
| Share of OPEC output (26.2 Mb/d) | 6.1% |
| Next larger member | Kuwait (2.58 Mb/d) |
| Next smaller member | Libya (1.36 Mb/d) |
EIA annual crude production for current OPEC members. See OPEC production, OPEC vs non-OPEC and the next OPEC+ meeting.
US Trade with Nigeria
| Flow | Latest month | Share of US total | vs year ago | Month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US crude imports from Nigeria | 41 kb/d | 0.7% | −65.8% | July 2026 |
EIA monthly trade statistics, thousand barrels a day. Full rankings: US crude imports by country and US fuel exports by country.
Oil Companies Operating in Nigeria
| Company | Type | Ownership |
|---|---|---|
| Shell | Integrated major | Publicly traded; no controlling shareholder. |
| TotalEnergies | Integrated major | Publicly traded; no controlling shareholder. |
| NNPC Ltd | National oil company (state-owned or state-controlled) | Shares are held in equal portions by the Ministry of Finance Incorporated and the Ministry of Petroleum Incorporated on behalf of the federal government; it became a limited company under the 2021 Petroleum Industry Act. |
From the oil company directory: companies with material producing operations here or headquartered here, hand-curated from company filings.
Nigeria Oil FAQ
How much oil does Nigeria produce?
Nigeria produces about 1.61 million barrels per day of crude oil (including lease condensate, 2025), ranking #14 among the countries tracked here. Source: EIA international statistics.
How much oil does Nigeria have in reserves?
Nigeria holds roughly 37.5 billion barrels of proven crude reserves (OPEC Annual Statistical Bulletin, 2023), the #11 largest in the world. Proven reserves shift with prices and technology — see the caveats on the oil-reserves page.
Why does Nigeria produce below its OPEC quota?
Widespread pipeline theft, illegal tapping and vandalism in the Niger Delta divert or shut in significant volumes, while aging infrastructure and underinvestment limit how quickly lost output can be restored — a gap between quota and actual production that has persisted for years.
What is the Dangote refinery and why does it matter?
A 650,000 barrel-per-day refinery near Lagos, Africa's largest, built to end Nigeria's long-standing paradox of exporting crude oil while importing most of its refined fuel. As it ramps toward full capacity, it could redirect Nigerian crude domestically and turn Nigeria into a fuel exporter to the rest of West Africa.
Does the United States import oil from Nigeria?
Yes. The EIA recorded about 41 thousand barrels a day of US crude imports from Nigeria in July 2026, 0.7% of the 6,224 thousand b/d the US imported in total, −65.8% on a year earlier.
Which oil companies operate in Nigeria?
The oil company directory lists Shell, TotalEnergies, NNPC Ltd with producing operations in Nigeria. See the directory for who owns each company and which basins it works.
How big is Nigeria within OPEC?
Nigeria is #5 of the 11 OPEC members tracked here, producing about 1.61 million barrels a day of crude in 2025, or 6.1% of the group's 26.2 million b/d. The next larger producer is Kuwait (2.58 Mb/d).