Remittances from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) to the Federation Account rose sharply in March 2026, climbing 60 percent to N2.88 trillion from N1.80 trillion recorded in February.
The spike follows the implementation of Executive Order No. 9 signed by Bola Tinubu in February, which bars NNPC from deducting 30 percent for the Frontier Exploration Fund and another 30 percent as management fees before remitting revenues.
Policy shift drives higher inflows
Under the new directive, all royalty, tax, and profit oil and gas revenues are to be remitted directly to the Federation Account before any cost deductions. The move is designed to improve transparency and maximise government earnings.
Damilare Asimiyu, Head of Investment Research at Afrinvest Consulting, attributed the surge to the revised remittance structure, noting that NNPC can no longer retain large portions of revenue at source.
He added that rising global oil prices have also supported inflows, driven partly by geopolitical tensions involving the United States and Iran, which pushed crude prices from about $72 to above $95 per barrel.
Output gap persists despite gains
Despite the improved revenue performance, analysts say Nigeria is still underperforming relative to its production capacity.
Asimiyu noted that if crude oil output had met targets, oil revenues could have significantly exceeded current projections of about N39 trillion for 2026.
Profit more than doubles
NNPC’s financials also strengthened in March, with profit after tax jumping to N276 billion from N136 billion in February. Revenue rose marginally to N2.77 trillion, up from N2.68 trillion.
Crude oil production increased to 1.32 million barrels per day (mbpd), compared to 1.27 mbpd in February. However, crude sales volumes declined to 17.27 million barrels from 22.09 million barrels.
Production gains were supported by the early completion of maintenance at the OML 118 Bonga asset, delivered 12 days ahead of schedule. However, output was constrained by outages on the Trans Forcados Pipeline due to a leak at the Keremor axis, which disrupted operations between February 20 and March 25.
Gas infrastructure records progress
On the gas front, progress continued on the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) pipeline, including completion of welding on the spur line to the Gwagwalada Independent Power Plant.
The NNPC also confirmed completion of the River Niger crossing on the OB3 pipeline, a key project linking eastern and western gas networks. The pipeline is expected to transport up to 2 billion standard cubic feet of gas per day, boosting supply reliability and supporting economic growth.
Source: BusinessDay
