The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) recorded a sharp decline in profitability in July 2026, with profit after tax (PAT) falling 47.9% to N279 billion from N535 billion in June. The company’s latest monthly report also showed that revenue dropped by 29.7% month-on-month to N3.087 trillion, making July one of NNPC’s weakest financial months of the year.
The decline came as both oil and gas production weakened during the month. Crude oil and condensate production averaged 1.68 million barrels per day in July, down from 1.72 million barrels per day in June. Natural gas production also fell by 4.5% to 7,489 million standard cubic feet per day, as operational disruptions, facility outages, equipment challenges and pipeline incidents affected output.
NNPC’s sales performance also took a hit, with crude oil and condensate sales dropping 20.2% to 22.53 million barrels in July from 28.23 million barrels in June. Gas sales equally declined to 4,581 million standard cubic feet per day from 4,970 million in the previous month. Despite the weaker performance, NNPC said its cumulative statutory payments to the Federation rose to N7.913 trillion between January and July, compared with N6.286 trillion recorded through June.
The July result marks a reversal of the strong improvement recorded earlier in the year. NNPC’s PAT had climbed from N462 billion in May to a record N535 billion in June before falling to N279 billion in July. The latest figure is also the company’s lowest monthly profit since March, when it posted N276 billion, although it remains significantly above the N136 billion recorded in February, its lowest monthly PAT so far in 2026.
To improve performance, NNPC said it would focus on increasing facility uptime, reducing unplanned downtime and accelerating production opportunities across its portfolio. The company also plans to optimise export operations, restore barging operations at Obodo and activate tandem offloading operations at Akpo and Erha. With Nigeria’s oil sector remaining an important source of government revenue and economic growth, NNPC’s July performance will be closely watched as the country moves further into the third quarter.
source: nairametrics
