The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has reported a dramatic collapse in its profitability, with its Profit After Tax (PAT) plunging by a staggering 71% over a six-month period. Data from its monthly report shows on Tuesday.
According to the company’s latest monthly report summary for September, PAT fell to N216 billion, a sharp decline from the N748 billion recorded in April of the same year.
The sharp and sustained downturn, which included a 40% drop from the N539 billion recorded just in August, signals significant financial volatility for the Nigerian state-owned oil company, raising concerns about its ability to maintain consistent contributions to the nation’s treasury.
The downturn is likely attributed to the internal and external operational challenges that severely impacted production and sales volumes in September.
A critical factor cited by NNPC leadership was the three-day industrial action embarked upon by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) in September. Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO), Bayo Ojulari, previously disclosed that the strike led to significant production deferments.
The disruption resulted in a projected 16% loss in national oil output, equating to over 200,000 barrels per day (bpd) of deferred crude oil production. Gas production and power generation were also impacted, leading to revenue losses driven by “missed liftings and gas sales.” NNPC noted that cash flow pressures are “immediate and compounding” as a result of these disruptions.
Operational performance was further moderated by planned maintenance activities, specifically citing scheduled maintenance at the Nigeria LNG (NLNG) facility. Additionally, the report highlighted delays in the phased recovery of previously shut-in assets and the deferred commencement of operations at Oil Mining Leases (OMLs) 71 and 72.
These factors contributed to a noticeable drop in core metrics for the month:
- Crude Oil and Condensate Production averaged 1.61 million barrels per day (mbpd), a slight decrease from the 1.64 mbpd recorded in August.
- Natural Gas Output fell to 6,284 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd), down from 6,949 mmscfd in the previous month.
- Total Revenue for the group also decreased to N4.269 trillion in September, down from N4.655 trillion in August 2025.
An analysis of NNPC’s monthly summaries reveals an erratic profit trajectory since the second quarter, emphasizing the instability inherent in the oil sector’s current operational environment.
In April, the NNPC reported N748 billion profit after tax. PAT then rose to N1.05 trillion in May, and declined to N905 billion in June.
The figure of N1.05 trillion in May represented the peak for the period, making the September return of N216 billion a stark representation of the operational hurdles faced by the state owned oil giant.
Despite the profit downturn, NNPC emphasized that it is sustaining collaborative efforts to drive production recovery initiatives and stabilize its finances.
The company is pressing ahead with its critical gas infrastructure projects. The report indicated “substantial progress” on the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline, which is now approximately 88% complete.
Furthermore, the implementation of a revised execution strategy for the River Niger crossing section of the Obiafu-Obrikom-Oben (OB3) Gas Pipeline is underway, with a commissioned 113km portion already flowing about 300 mmscf/d of gas.
The NNPC remains crucial to state finances, having remitted a cumulative N10.07 trillion in statutory payments to the government between January and August 2025.
