The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) says Nigeria’s average daily crude oil production increased significantly to 1.53 million barrels per day (bpd) in January.

The country, for the first time, met the global oil cartel’s production quota of 1.5 million bpd since it was set — for the 2024 period — at OPEC’s ministerial meeting on November 30, 2023.

In December 2024, the quota was extended to 2026 as Nigeria produced below the quota for over a year.

OPEC, in its monthly oil market report on Wednesday, said figures obtained from direct communication with Nigerian officials showed that Nigeria recorded 1.53 million bpd in January.

The oil cartel obtains data on crude oil production from two sources: direct communication — which is from member countries — and secondary communication, such as energy intelligence platforms.

According to the report, the current output figure represents a 54,000 or 3.6 percent increase from the 1.48 million bpd recorded in December 2024.

With the development, the current production figure means that Nigeria retained its position as the largest oil producer in Africa, surpassing Algeria, which produced 907,000 bpd in January.

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