Nigeria’s crude oil output has plummeted to an unprecedented low, coinciding with the appointment of Ibas as Rivers State Administrator.
The decline comes amid fears that unrest and opposition sparked by the appointment of Vice Admiral Ibok Ete Ibas as Rivers State’s sole administrator could disrupt crude oil production.
Nigeria’s crude oil production fell in March 2025, according to data released by the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission.
According to the data, daily crude oil production in March fell to 1.603 million barrels per day from 1.671 million barrels per day in February. This represents a drop of 68,000 barrels per day.
Crude oil production excluding condensates stood at 1.4 million barrels per day in March, a decrease from 1.465 million barrels per day recorded in February. This indicates that Nigeria once again failed to meet its OPEC production quota of 1.5 million barrels per day.
The March figure of 1.603 million barrels per day (including condensates) marks the lowest production level since January 2025, when production stood at 1.737 million barrels per day.
This decline in output coincides with the appointment of the sole administrator in Nigeria’s oil-rich Rivers State. It will be recalled that following the declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State in March, President Bola Tinubu appointed Vice Admiral Ibas (retd.) as the state’s sole administrator during a ceremony at the State House in Abuja.
President Tinubu attributed the move to instability in the state and the recent sabotage of an oil pipeline.
The appointment has sparked protests from residents of the oil-rich Niger Delta region, under the umbrella group “Niger Delta Congress,” who have voiced strong opposition to Ibas’s appointment.
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