Nigeria failed to meet its assigned production target for the fifth consecutive time in December 2025, according to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) data.
The oil cartel’s monthly report, released on Wednesday, showed that the country’s oil output decreased to 1.42 million barrels per day (bpd) in the review month.
According to the global organisation, the latest figure represents a 0.7 percent drop from 1.43 million bpd output in November 2025.
The oil alliance said its figures were derived from direct communication with Nigerian authorities.
OPEC usually sources its crude oil output data from two channels: direct communication from member countries and secondary sources such as energy intelligence platforms.
The latest data indicates that the country failed to reach its 1.5 million bpd production quota, marking a production shortfall of 80,000 bpd.
Despite the decreased production level, the oil cartel said Nigeria maintained its position as Africa’s leading oil producer, followed by Libya, which recorded an output of 1.37 million bpd.
The group said also data from secondary sources put Nigeria’s crude oil production at 1.5 million bpd in December — a 1.35 percent increase compared with the 1.48 million bpd recorded in November.
Citing secondary sources, the OPEC said “total DoC crude oil production averaged 42.83 mb/d in December 2025, which is 238 tb/d lower, m-o-m”.
On Wednesday, crude oil prices rose as markets grew concerned about potential disruptions to Iranian supply amid fears of a US strike on Iran and possible Iranian retaliation targeting US regional interests.
