The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited generated N4.61 trillion in revenue and recorded N509 billion in profit after tax in September 2026, according to its latest monthly operations and financial report.
Released on November 3, the report showed that the company’s financial performance improved despite only a slight increase in crude oil and condensate sales during the month.
NNPC’s September revenue translated into an after-tax profit margin of approximately 11.05%, equivalent to about N11 retained for every N100 earned.
However, the published summary did not provide a detailed breakdown of operating expenses, production costs, financing charges or earnings from individual business segments.
Crude Oil and Condensate Sales Rise by Just 70,000 Barrels
Combined crude oil and condensate sales increased by 70,000 barrels to 24.63 million barrels in September, compared with 24.56 million barrels recorded in August.
Crude oil sales rose from 23.57 million barrels to 23.64 million barrels, while condensate sales remained unchanged at approximately 990,000 barrels.
Despite the monthly increase, September’s combined sales were 12.8% below the 28.23 million barrels recorded in June.
The figures show that the improvement in reported earnings was not accompanied by a comparable increase in crude oil and condensate sales. However, the report did not provide enough information to establish the contribution of commodity prices, trading activities or other business operations to the financial results.
Total Hydrocarbon Production Increases to 3.04 Million Barrels Per Day
NNPC’s total hydrocarbon production rose by approximately 1% in September, reaching 3.04 million barrels of oil equivalent per day from 3.01 million barrels per day in August.
Crude oil accounted for approximately 1.45 million barrels per day, while condensate contributed 244,000 barrels per day. Natural gas represented the equivalent of 1.34 million barrels per day.
The company attributed the improvement largely to the resumption of operations at Obodo Oil Mining Lease 150 and other producing assets.
Nevertheless, production remained below the 3.07 million barrels of oil equivalent per day recorded in May and June.
Equipment Failures and Infrastructure Disruptions Affect Production
The company identified several operational challenges affecting its production activities.
These included equipment failures, flowline leaks, community protests, storage limitations, subsurface difficulties and interruptions involving export infrastructure.
NNPC said these disruptions continued to affect operations, despite the improvement recorded in September.
Gas Production and Sales Record Modest Growth
Natural gas production increased by approximately 1.4% during September, reaching 7,789 million standard cubic feet per day compared with 7,680 million standard cubic feet per day in August.
Gas sales also improved by 1.2%, rising from 4,737 million standard cubic feet per day to 4,793 million standard cubic feet per day.
However, the September sales figure remained approximately 5.3% below the 5,059 million standard cubic feet per day recorded in March.
Statutory Payments Reach N11.14 Trillion
NNPC reported that its cumulative statutory payments to the government amounted to N11.14 trillion between January and September 2026.
The figure represents the company’s reported statutory obligations over the nine-month period and is separate from its September profit after tax and any dividend distributions.
The report also placed petrol availability at 54% across NNPC Retail stations nationwide.
However, the company did not provide further details explaining how the availability figure was calculated or how it compared with the previous month.
OB3 Pipeline Operationalised as AKK Project Reaches 95% Completion
NNPC reported progress on two major gas infrastructure projects.
The company confirmed that the River Niger crossing of the Obiafu-Obrikom-Oben (OB3) gas pipeline had been commissioned and brought into operation.
It also disclosed that construction of the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) gas pipeline had reached 95% completion.
According to the report, work was continuing towards achieving early gas delivery to Abuja before the end of 2026.
Limited Financial Disclosure Leaves Questions Over Earnings Composition
Although NNPC reported N4.61 trillion in revenue and N509 billion in profit after tax, its September summary did not provide detailed financial information showing how the earnings were generated.
The absence of a breakdown covering operating expenses, production costs, financing charges and individual business segments limits the assessment of the factors behind the reported profit.
The available figures do not establish how much came from crude oil sales, natural gas operations, petroleum product trading or other activities.
NNPC also stated that its production, sales and financial figures were provisional and remained subject to reconciliation with relevant stakeholders.
The September report therefore provides the company’s headline financial and operational figures without a detailed account of the contributions made by its different business activities.
