The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) recorded a 23.3 per cent increase in revenue in September 2026, but petrol availability across its retail network remained unchanged at 54 per cent, highlighting contrasting performances across the company’s business operations.

According to its September Monthly Report Summary released on November 3, the national oil company generated N4.608 trillion in revenue, compared with N3.737 trillion in August.

Profit after tax also increased by 18.1 percent to N509 billion from N431 billion in the preceding month, supported by improvements in petroleum production and sales activities.

An analysis of the figures, however, shows that the company’s net profit margin declined slightly from approximately 11.53 per cent in August to 11.05 percent in September, indicating that profit growth did not keep pace with the increase in revenue.

NNPC reported total hydrocarbon production of 3.04 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, up from 3.01 million recorded in August.
Crude oil and condensate production increased marginally from 1.69 million barrels per day to 1.70 million barrels per day.

The company attributed the improvement largely to the resumption of production at the Obodo field in Oil Mining Lease 150 and the restoration of output across other assets.

Natural gas production also increased to 7,789 million standard cubic feet per day from 7,680 million recorded in August.
Gas sales rose to 4,793 million standard cubic feet per day, while crude oil and condensate sales increased marginally to 24.63 million barrels from 24.56 million barrels.

Despite the production improvements, the company identified several operational challenges affecting its ability to sustain higher output.

These included equipment failures, facility reliability problems, flowline leaks, subsurface challenges, community protests and disruptions involving storage and export infrastructure.

NNPC said it was intensifying efforts to restore shut-in wells, undertake maintenance activities and address infrastructure constraints to reduce production losses.

In the downstream segment, the company’s retail performance showed no improvement in its reported petrol availability indicator.

Premium Motor Spirit availability across NNPC Retail Limited stations remained at 54 percent, unchanged from August.

The figure indicates that the company’s retail fuel availability measure remained static despite increased revenue and stronger hydrocarbon production.

However, the report did not provide sufficient details to establish the individual operational factors responsible for the retail performance or the number of stations affected.

On infrastructure development, NPC reported that the
Obiafu-Obrikom-Oben (OB3) gas pipeline had reached full completion, with the River Niger crossing commissioned and operational.

The Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) gas pipeline remained at 95 per cent completion, with the company continuing construction and pre-commissioning activities aimed at achieving early gas delivery to Abuja in 2026.

Upstream pipeline availability was reported at 100 percent during
September, maintaining the level recorded in August.

Meanwhile, cumulative statutory payments to the government increased to N11.14 trillion for the January-to-September period, compared with N9.487 trillion reported for the first eight months of the year.

The latest report reflects improvements in NNPC’s monthly earnings and hydrocarbon production, although persistent operational challenges and unchanged retail fuel availability demonstrate that performance gains remain uneven across its business segments.

NNPC stated that its production, sales and financial figures remain provisional and subject to reconciliation with relevant stakeholders.