By Anthony Isaac
Oil producers supplied more than 127 million barrels of crude oil and condensate to domestic refineries between January and September 2026, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, NUPRC, has disclosed.
The Commission said the deliveries reflected improvements in the implementation of the Domestic Crude Supply Obligation, DCSO, following interventions to resolve commercial disagreements between oil producers and refiners that affected supplies in the first quarter of the year.
The Commission Chief Executive, Mrs. Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, disclosed this on Monday at the OTL Africa Downstream Energy Week 2026 in Lagos.
Eyesan, who was represented by the Assistant Director, Operations, Mr. Prosper Omonedo, said 53.7 million barrels of crude oil and condensate were supplied to domestic refineries in the second quarter, while 45.1 million barrels were delivered in the third quarter.
She said the supplies represented performance levels of 97.4 per cent and 76.2 per cent, respectively, against the applicable supply targets.
“We engaged producers and refiners, and in the second and third quarters, 53.7 and 45.1 million barrels of crude oil and condensate were supplied to domestic refineries, an overall performance of 97.4 and 76.2 per cent, respectively. From Q1–Q3 of 2026, more than 127 million barrels of Nigerian crude went to Nigerian refineries,” she said.
Under Section 109 of the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021, the NUPRC allocates crude oil to domestic refineries before export to support local refining and strengthen domestic petroleum supply.
To further improve deliveries and reduce costs, the commission is consulting oil producers, refiners and other stakeholders on a domestic crude swap framework.
According to Eyesan, the proposed arrangement would allow refiners to receive crude oil from the nearest suitable production or export point instead of transporting their allocated grades over long distances.
“Under it, a refiner could receive crude from the nearest suitable production or export point instead of moving an allocated grade over long distances, which could take an estimated three to four dollars off the cost of every barrel,” she said.
On oil production, the NUPRC boss disclosed that Nigeria recorded average crude oil and condensate production of 1.717 million barrels per day in September, representing a 2.34 per cent increase over the August figure.
Crude oil production alone averaged 1.53 million barrels per day, marking the fifth consecutive month the industry met or exceeded its Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC, crude oil production quota.
She attributed the improvement to better asset integrity, enhanced security of evacuation infrastructure, stronger collaboration with operators and sustained regulatory efforts to restore shut-in production.
On the 2026 oil licensing round, Eyesan said the 40 blocks on offer would undergo a transparent evaluation process, with published criteria and mandatory disclosure of beneficial ownership.
