By Ogundele Eniola
Nigeria’s oil industry has put another massive figure on the nation’s financial scoreboard, but behind the impressive N7.91 trillion remitted to the Federation Account in seven months is a less comfortable story: the country’s biggest revenue earner is showing signs of pressure.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) remitted N7.913 trillion to the Federation Account between January and July 2026, according to its July 2026 Operational and Financial Performance Report released on Wednesday.
The figure represents money flowing from the petroleum sector into the Federation Account, the pool from which the Federal Government, states and local governments fund public services and other obligations.
But while the headline number is enormous, NNPC’s July figures reveal that the company’s financial performance weakened considerably during the month. NNPC recorded N3.087 trillion in revenue and N279 billion in profit after tax in July.
Its July profit was almost half of the N535 billion recorded in June, representing a decline of about 48 per cent. Revenue also fell from approximately N4.39 trillion in June to N3.09 trillion in July.
NNPC reported that crude oil and condensate production averaged 1.68 million barrels per day in July, down from 1.72 million barrels per day in June and 1.73 million barrels per day in May.
The company attributed the July decline to operational disruptions affecting several production assets, including facility outages, equipment unavailability, pipeline incidents and other production constraints.
Crude oil and condensate sales also dropped sharply. NNPC sold 22.53 million barrels in July, compared with 28.23 million barrels in June a decline of about 20 per cent. For a country where petroleum revenue remains critical to government finances, those numbers matter.
Every reduction in production potentially means less oil available to sell, less revenue generated and, ultimately, less fiscal room for the government. Despite the weaker July performance, the seven-month remittance remains significant.
The N7.913 trillion sent to the Federation Account between January and July represents NNPC’s statutory contribution to government revenues during the period.
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The company also reported that its upstream pipeline network maintained 100 per cent availability for the second consecutive month, while natural gas production averaged about 7.49 billion standard cubic feet per day in July.
The Obiafu-Obrikom-Oben (OB3) gas pipeline reached 100 per cent completion, while the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) gas pipeline was reported to be at about 95 per cent completion.
These projects could become increasingly important as Nigeria tries to squeeze more value from its gas resources while reducing its dependence on crude oil alone.
The number may sound distant from everyday life, but its consequences are not.
The Federation Account is the financial pool from which the three tiers of government receive allocations. That means the performance of the petroleum sector can eventually affect the resources available for roads, healthcare, education, salaries, security and other government responsibilities.
It also explains why every disruption in oil production attracts attention far beyond the oil fields.
Nigeria can post billions in oil revenue and still face difficult choices over how to fund public services. The challenge, therefore, is not simply getting more money into government coffers.
It is making sure that the money is sustained, properly managed and translated into something Nigerians can actually feel.
For now, NNPC’s latest figures offer two contrasting pictures: a petroleum sector that has delivered ₦7.9 trillion to the Federation Account, but one whose July revenue, profit, production and crude sales all came under pressure.
