Nigeria State Oil Firm Margins Compress to $335m Despite Peak Production

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LAGOS – The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) saw monthly revenue contract 12.8% to N4.335 trillion ($3.14 billion) in May 2026, dropping from N4.97 trillion ($3.60 billion) generated during April.

According to the state firm’s latest operational report, profit after tax simultaneously declined by 4% to N462 billion, down from N481 billion over the same period.

The margin compression occurred despite Nigeria sustaining robust upstream output, with combined crude and condensate production climbing to a 15-month high of 1.7 million barrels per day in May.

Global commodity market fluctuations, structural infrastructure challenges, and ongoing domestic downstream product distribution gaps heavily weighed on the national oil company’s monthly bottom-line financial performance.

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) confirmed that while stable operations boosted national output, persistent asset bottlenecks limited the optimization of overall state oil revenues.

“The rise in production is attributable to sustained positive momentum as operations remained stable throughout the reporting period, with no significant pipeline or facility outages recorded,” the NUPRC stated.

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Chidozie Nwali

Chidozie Nwali is a Business Reporter at ThinkBusiness Africa, covering macroeconomics, finance, technology, and the continent's energy transition. With over 4 years of multimedia journalism experience across broadcast and print, he is deeply passionate about telling the African growth story. Chidozie holds a B.sc degree in Mass Communication and frequently tracks digital media trends as a Google media conference alumnus.

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