\n The payments mark one of the clearest signs yet that recent policy changes aimed at tightening transparency and blocking leakages are starting to take effect.
\n <\/p>\n
\n Monthly remittances rose from N726 billion ($530 million) in January to a sharp N1.804 trillion ($1.32 billion) in February, before easing in March, bringing the quarterly total to N2.89 trillion.
\n <\/p>\n
\n The February spike suggests improved reconciliation of prior revenues and stricter remittance enforcement, rather than a one-off surge in production.
\n <\/p>\n
\n Profit rebounds as revenue strengthens
\n <\/p>\n
\n NNPC reported a profit after tax of N276 billion ($201 million) in March, up about 49 per cent from N136 billion ($99 million) in February.
\n <\/p>\n
\n Revenue climbed to N2.774 trillion ($2.02 billion), compared with N2.68 trillion in the previous month.
\n <\/p>\n
\n The recovery points to stronger operating margins and improved efficiency across the company\u2019s upstream and gas businesses after a softer February performance.
\n <\/p>\n
\n Gas emerges as key growth driver
\n <\/p>\n
\n Natural gas output continued its upward trend, rising to 7,731 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd) in March, the highest level recorded in the past year.
\n <\/p>\n
\n That compares with 7,458 mmscfd in February and 7,283 mmscfd in January.
\n <\/p>\n
\n Gas sales also increased to 5,059 mmscfd, reflecting stronger domestic demand and ongoing efforts to deepen gas commercialisation.
\n <\/p>\n
\n The gains highlight Nigeria\u2019s growing reliance on gas as a more stable and scalable revenue stream, particularly as global energy markets shift toward cleaner fuels.
\n <\/p>\n
\n Oil output stable but still below target
\n <\/p>\n
\n Crude oil and condensate production averaged 1.56 million barrels per day in March, slightly above February\u2019s 1.51 million bpd.
\n <\/p>\n
\n Of this, crude oil accounted for 1.32 million bpd, while condensate contributed 0.24 million bpd.
\n <\/p>\n
\n Despite the improvement, output remains significantly below Nigeria\u2019s long-standing target of more than 2 million bpd, limiting the country\u2019s ability to fully benefit from oil price movements.
\n <\/p>\n
\n Crude sales fell to 17.27 million barrels in March from 23.08 million barrels in February, pointing to continued export or logistical constraints.
\n <\/p>\n
\n Policy reforms reshape revenue flows
\n <\/p>\n
\n The improved remittance performance follows a February 2026 executive order signed by President Bola Tinubu aimed at overhauling oil revenue management.
\n <\/p>\n
\n The directive: Suspended NNPC\u2019s management fees and frontier exploration deductions; Mandated full remittance of oil and gas revenues; Introduced stricter oversight through an inter-agency committee.
\n <\/p>\n
\n The changes mark a shift from a system where the national oil company retained significant portions of revenue to one with tighter fiscal controls.
\n <\/p>\n
\n Infrastructure advances, but supply gaps remain
\n <\/p>\n
\n NNPC reported progress on key gas infrastructure, including the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) pipeline, where the spur line to the Gwagwalada power plant has been completed.
\n <\/p>\n
\n The Obiafu-Obrikom-Oben (OB3) pipeline recorded 96 per cent availability, supporting improved gas supply reliability.
\n <\/p>\n
\n However, downstream challenges persist.
\n <\/p>\n
\n Petrol availability at NNPC retail stations stood at 56 per cent in March, underscoring ongoing distribution and supply constraints in parts of the country.
\n <\/p>\n
\n NNPC\u2019s stronger remittances are critical for Nigeria\u2019s public finances, where oil revenue remains a major source of funding for federal, state and local governments.
\n <\/p>\n
\n The company remitted about N14.7 trillion ($10.7 billion) in 2025, and current trends suggest 2026 could see sustained high inflows if reforms hold and production improves.
\n <\/p>\n
\n Nigeria is improving revenue transparency and cash generation, but still faces structural constraints in oil production and distribution
\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The payments mark one of the clearest signs yet that recent policy changes aimed at tightening transparency…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":412703,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[138,219,111,139,69],"class_list":["post-412702","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-economy","tag-business","tag-economy","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/412702","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=412702"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/412702\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/412703"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=412702"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=412702"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=412702"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}