The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has said the Federal Government, Dangote Petroleum Refinery, and eight other domestic refineries are projected to require 770,500 barrels of oil equivalent per day (BOPD) for processing in the first half of 2025 (January to June).
In addition, the government aims to produce over two million barrels per day (bpd) and 62 million barrels per month. These refineries include the 10,000 bpd OPAC refinery in Delta State, the 5,000 bpd Waltersmith Refinery in Imo State, the 2,500 bpd Duport Midstream in Edo State, and the 1,500 bpd Edo Refinery, also in Edo State.
Other key refineries are the 11,000 bpd Aradel Refinery in Rivers State, the 60,000 bpd old Port Harcourt refinery in Rivers State, the 125,000 bpd Warri Refinery in Delta State, and the 110,000 bpd Kaduna Refinery in Kaduna State.
The NUPRC disclosed this while unveiling its crude oil production forecast for the first half of 2025 and the refining requirements for functional refineries. This move aligns with the Commission’s efforts to ensure effective capacity utilization of the nation’s refineries and a consistent supply of crude oil, as outlined in Section 109 of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.
According to the NUPRC, the 770,500 bpd crude requirement constitutes approximately 37% of the forecasted first-half 2025 average daily production of 2,066,940 bpd. The Commission also highlighted that the target will be met through the Project One Million Barrels initiative, launched in October 2024, which has significantly increased the nation’s crude production capacity for both domestic use and export.
The Commission stated: “The forecasted daily crude requirement of 770,500 bpd represents about 37% of the projected first-half 2025 average daily production of 2,066,940 bpd. With the launch of Project 1 Million Barrels, NUPRC is leveraging upstream operators to meet the target of 2.5 million bpd in the short term.”
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“This initiative is in line with Nigeria’s commitment to enhancing its domestic refining capacity and ensuring the long-term sustainability of its oil industry. In the first half of 2025, we expect increased collaboration between local refineries and producing companies, driving a more self-sufficient petroleum industry in Nigeria.”
The crude oil required by these refineries will come from International Oil Companies (IOCs) and independent producers, including Shell, Chevron, and Seplat Energy. The Commission outlined the crude oil requirements for each refinery, with the Dangote Petroleum Refinery needing 550,000 bpd and OPAC Refinery requiring 5,000 bpd. Other refineries, such as Waltersmith Refinery, Duport Midstream, Edo Refinery, and Aradel Refinery, have respective requirements of 4,500 bpd, 2,000 bpd, 1,000 bpd, and 7,000 bpd. Additionally, the Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna refineries require 60,000 bpd, 75,000 bpd, and 66,000 bpd, respectively.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s daily average oil production rose by 7.38% year-on-year in December 2024, reaching 1.667 million bpd, including condensate, up from 1.552 million bpd in December 2023. However, on a month-on-month basis, oil output decreased by 1.35% from 1.690 million bpd in November 2024.
Data also showed that Nigeria’s highest daily oil production in December 2024 was 1.79 million bpd, while the lowest recorded output was 1.57 million bpd. Cumulatively, Nigeria produced 51.69 million barrels in December 2024, marking a 1.9% increase compared to the 50.71 million barrels produced in November 2024.
The highest oil output for the month was recorded at Forcados Terminal, with 8.49 million barrels, followed by Bonny Terminal at 7.78 million barrels and Qua Iboe at 4.15 million barrels. Excluding condensate, Nigeria’s daily oil production stood at 1.484 million barrels, indicating a shortfall from the OPEC production quota of 1.5 million bpd.
