According to the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) monthly report, the global price of crude oil decreased by 7.8% month-on-month in May 2025. The report showed that the OPEC Reference Basket (ORB) value fell by $5.36 to an average of $63.62 per barrel, down from $68.98 in April 2025. Nigeria’s Bonny Light crude also declined by 5.8%, from $68.48 per barrel in April 2025 to $64.55 per barrel in May.
Lower Bonny Light prices could reduce oil revenue, thus constraining the government’s ability to implement public spending plans.
The report also revealed that Nigeria’s average daily crude oil production (based on direct communication) dropped month-on-month by 2.22%, from 1.486 million barrels per day (bpd) to 1.453 million bpd in May 2025. Moreover, oil production was 3.13% below OPEC’s 1.5 million bpd quota and a significant 30.8% short of the country’s 2025 target of 2.1 million bpd.
To address these developments, the Nigerian government should focus on increasing oil production by repairing critical infrastructure, enhancing efficiency, and supporting upstream investments such as exploration and drilling to meet production targets. Furthermore, due to the volatility of the sector, the government should strengthen efforts to diversify the economy by investing in strategic sectors like agriculture, manufacturing, and the digital economy to reduce dependence on oil. (Nigeria Economic Update)
