Nigeria’s oil reserves drop to 37.01bn barrels in 2026 as gas reserves climb – NUPRC
By: Abudu Olalekan
Oil under Nigeria is fading. A little at a time, sure – but it’s showing.
Come 2026, Nigeria’s confirmed oil and condensate holdings stood at 37.01 billion barrels – just shy of the prior year’s 37.28 billion. This update came through on April 1, shared via official notice by regulator head Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan. Details reached Reportersroom following her midweek remarks. Numbers ticked lower, marking a subtle dip from twelve months earlier.
Last time around, oil dipped just slightly. Gas took another path entirely. Total gas climbed to 215.19 trillion cubic feet in Nigeria. Before that, it stood at 210.54 tcf. The figures reflect what the country holds as of January first, two thousand twenty-six. Eyesan put it plainly – this is how much oil and gas remain on record.
Built from her breakdown, 31.09 billion barrels mark the 2P crude oil reserves – these include both proved and likely amounts. Condensate sits at 5.92 billion barrels alongside them. Combined into one figure, records now show a total of 37.01 billion barrels.
Gas holdings track similar levels of clarity. She notes 2P Associated Gas totals 100.21 trillion cubic feet, whereas Non-Associated Gas hits 114.98 trillion cubic feet instead. This adds up – the national tally lands on 215.19 trillion cubic feet altogether.
Not only volume matters here. According to Eyesan, the Reserves Life Index – how many years today’s reserves would stretch if output stays steady – is currently estimated at 59 years for oil, while gas holds a longer span of 85 years. Those numbers look solid on the surface.
Not much changed really – oil and condensate levels dipped just under one percent by early 2026. That tiny fall? Largely came from pulling crude out of the ground through 2025. Then there was also fresh data. New underground scans plus real world well results tweaked earlier guesses. So Nigeria pulled barrels up, checked how wells actually behaved, and adjusted the figures down slightly. Numbers move when facts change.
Floating upward instead. A jump of 2.21% in AG and NAG levels came mainly through fresh finds, her explanation continued, while deeper analysis of rock layers boosted both certainty and numbers on record.
Again and again, Eyesan brought it back to NUPRC’s job – building reserves while holding output steady. Her words tied the agency’s actions directly into rolling out the Petroleum Industry Act of 2021. From there, she shifted toward what she called critical focus areas meant to lift results across oil exploration and drilling. What stood clear was how each point fed into that central aim.
In the end, she formally declared “total Oil and Condensate reserves of 37.01 billion barrels and total Gas reserves of 215.19 trillion cubic feet as the official National Petroleum Reserves Position as of 1st January 2026.”
A drop, slight, in oil numbers. Gas figures climbed, steady and clear. Each new reserve count tweaks Nigeria’s energy path again.
