By Obas Esiedesa
Oil companies in Nigeria exported about 80 percent of the country’s crude oil production in the first quarter of 2026 despite rising demand from domestic refineries.
Latest data released by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission showed that out of the 139.93 million barrels of crude oil produced in the first three months of the year, only 28.5 million barrels, representing 20.1 percent, were supplied to local refineries, including the 650,000 barrels-per-day Dangote Refinery.
This means that 111.43 million barrels of crude oil, representing nearly 80 percent of total production, was exported despite the country’s expanding domestic refining capacity.
The development occurred despite the Commission allocating 61.9 million barrels for local refining under the Domestic Crude Supply Obligation (DCSO) framework, while producers collectively offered to supply 68.7 million barrels during the quarter.
According to the NUPRC, oil companies produced 50.45 mill
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