Nigeria’s Oil Production Rises, Exceeds OPEC+ Quota As Oil Prices Stabilise

• Nigeria and two other countries have increased crude oil production since 2025
• This places them in the group of countries that are exceeding OPEC quota, even as oil prices appear to have stabilised
• OPEC + has also made a forecast of expected growth in global demand for crude oil

Legit.ng journalist Ruth Okwumbu-Imafidon has over a decade of experience in business reporting across digital and mainstream media.

Crude Oil prices appear to be stable after the Organization of the Production Export Countries (OPEC) released its monthly report on Thursday.

Oil prices have been under pressure recently, influenced by rising output and concerns over trade tariffs.

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Brent crude is now maintaining its earlier gains and continues to trade above $70 per barrel.

The report shows that OPEC + (including Russia and its allies) has now increased output to 41.01 million barrels per day, up by about 363,000 barrel.

This is more than twice the scheduled 138000 barrels increase OPEC+ set for April 2025, and Kazakhstan is at the forefront, with a record high production well above its own quota.

Where Kazakhstan has a quota of 1.468 million bpd, it produced 1.570bpd in January and has now increased to 1.767 million bpd as captured by OPEC data.

Nigeria producing above OPEC quota

Nigeria is also producing about the assigned 1.5mbpd quota, with an average of 1,526mbpd in January and 1,560mbpd in February.

Recall that Nigeria and Angola are expected to drive Africa’s oil output to 3.39 million barrels daily in 2025.

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There are also ongoing plans to increase Nigeria's oil rig counts to 50 before end of 2025.

Others, like the United Arab Emirates and Gabon, are also producing slightly above their assigned quotas.

A Reuters report, citing industry insiders, suggests that record production levels from Kazakhstan played a key role in OPEC+’s decision to move forward with its planned production increase in April.

However, Kazakh officials stated during a briefing on Friday that they would cut production in March, April, and May to help balance the market.

OPEC forecasts global oil demand

In the same report, OPEC confirmed that it is maintaining its forecast for global oil demand growth.

The organization expects oil demand to increase by 1.45 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2025 and by 1.43 million bpd in 2026. These projections remain unchanged from last month.

OPEC also expressed confidence that the global economy will adapt to new trade policies, despite growing concerns over tariffs.

The report notes that President Donald Trump's recent decision to impose higher tariffs on U.S. steel and aluminiumm imports, effective as of Wednesday, marks a significant step in reshaping global trade relations to benefit the U.S.

While trade uncertainties are expected to create some market volatility, OPEC believes the world economy will adjust over time.

Nigeria Exceeds OPEC Quota in February

In related news, Nigeria's crude oil production rose 70,000 barrels per day above its assigned OPEC quota in February 2025.

The development was due to increased domestic demand and use by the mega Dangote Refinery Nigeria.

Interestingly, this happened at the time the world saw a crash in global crude prices due to increased supply.