NNPC Profit Climbs to ₦535bn in June 2026 as Revenue Hits ₦4.39tn, but Half-Year Remittances Slide!

Reported by Musa Antiketu,| Journalist at Obaland magazine.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) recorded a ₦535 billion profit after tax (PAT) in June 2026, representing a 15.8 per cent increase from the ₦462 billion reported in May, according to the company’s latest Monthly Report Summary.

The June result places NNPC among Nigeria’s most significant corporate revenue-generating institutions and underscores the continuing financial transformation of the state-owned energy company. However, while profitability strengthened during the month, the company’s statutory remittances to the Federation for the first half of 2026 were lower than the corresponding period in 2025, highlighting the difference between corporate profitability and direct fiscal inflows to government.

NNPC released its June 2026 Monthly Report Summary on Friday, July 31, 2026. The report covers financial performance, crude oil and condensate production, natural gas output, infrastructure projects and other operational indicators across the company’s energy value chain.

The ₦535 billion profit represents a ₦73 billion increase over the ₦462 billion recorded in May. Nairametrics reported that the June figure was NNPC’s strongest monthly profit since August 2025, when the company recorded approximately ₦539 billion in profit after tax.

The result also marks a significant recovery from the weaker profitability recorded earlier in 2026. According to a review of NNPC’s monthly performance, profit after tax stood at ₦385 billion in January, fell to ₦136 billion in February, rose to ₦276 billion in March, then climbed to ₦481 billion in April and ₦462 billion in May before reaching ₦535 billion in June.

That trajectory demonstrates the considerable volatility in NNPC’s monthly financial performance. The June figure is therefore significant not only because of its size, but because it represents a marked improvement from the trough recorded earlier in the year.

Revenue Rises Above ₦4 Trillion

NNPC generated ₦4.389 trillion in revenue in June 2026, according to the company’s report. The figure was marginally higher than the approximately ₦4.335 trillion generated in May.

TheCable reported that June revenue increased from the previous month while the company’s profit also expanded. This suggests that the improved bottom-line performance was not accompanied by a dramatic increase in headline monthly revenue, indicating that factors affecting margins, costs and operational efficiency may also have contributed to the stronger profit outcome.

For a company operating across Nigeria’s upstream, midstream and downstream petroleum sectors, monthly revenue is influenced by several variables, including oil and gas production volumes, commodity prices, lifting and sales arrangements, operational disruptions and other financial factors.

NNPC’s June results therefore provide a snapshot of a business operating in an energy market where production conditions and infrastructure reliability remain critical to earnings.

Statutory Remittances: A Different Story

Despite the increase in profit, NNPC’s statutory payments to the Federation during the first six months of 2026 did not rise in line with its latest monthly earnings.

The company reported ₦6.286 trillion in cumulative statutory payments to the Federation between January and June 2026. TheCable, citing the same monthly report, noted that the first-half remittance was about 10.91 per cent lower than the ₦6.96 trillion recorded during the corresponding period of 2025.

The distinction is important for understanding the economic significance of the June results.

A higher corporate profit does not automatically translate into an equivalent increase in government revenue. NNPC’s profit after tax is a corporate financial performance indicator, while statutory payments represent funds remitted to government entities and the Federation under applicable fiscal arrangements.

Consequently, the June numbers point to a mixed picture: NNPC’s profitability improved substantially, but first-half statutory remittances were lower year-on-year. That nuance is essential in evaluating the company’s contribution to Nigeria’s public finances.

It also reinforces the importance of looking beyond a single headline financial number when assessing the performance of Nigeria’s national oil company.

Oil Production Edges Lower

The financial performance came against a slight decline in NNPC’s average crude oil and condensate production.

According to the June report, production averaged 1.72 million barrels per day, compared with 1.73 million barrels per day in May.

NNPC attributed the marginal decline to operational disruptions, facility integrity issues and subsurface challenges across several assets.

The production figure remains strategically important because Nigeria’s fiscal position continues to depend heavily on the oil and gas sector, even as successive administrations pursue greater economic diversification.

The continuing presence of operational disruptions and infrastructure-related challenges shows that increasing production sustainably remains a major task for the company and the wider petroleum industry.

NNPC has previously faced difficulties associated with oil theft, pipeline vandalism, underinvestment and other operational constraints. Reuters noted in its reporting on NNPC’s 2025 annual results that Nigeria’s oil production has historically remained below its OPEC-related targets because of theft, pipeline vandalism and underinvestment.

Against that background, the modest decline in June production deserves attention even though it did not prevent the company from recording stronger monthly profitability.

Gas Sector Continues to Gain Momentum

While oil and condensate production slipped slightly, natural gas production recorded another increase.

NNPC reported natural gas production of 7.841 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscf/d) in June, compared with 7.774 million mmscf/d in May. The company described the increase as a continuation of its upward trajectory in gas production.

The development is significant because Nigeria possesses extensive natural gas resources, and the Federal Government and energy industry have increasingly positioned gas as a major component of the country’s strategy for improving electricity supply, industrial production, energy security and export earnings.

For NNPC, stronger gas production also aligns with its broader infrastructure programme, particularly projects designed to expand gas transportation and supply to industrial and population centres across the country.

OB3 Pipeline Nears Completion

One of the most closely watched developments in NNPC’s June report is the progress of the Obiafu-Obrikom-Oben (OB3) Gas Pipeline.

The project reached 98 per cent completion during the month, with final tie-in activities continuing toward a target of achieving first gas in August 2026.

The OB3 pipeline is considered strategically important because it is intended to improve the movement of natural gas within Nigeria’s domestic network and strengthen the reliability of gas supply to power and industrial users.

A successful completion would therefore have implications beyond NNPC’s balance sheet. It could contribute to wider efforts to improve domestic gas availability and support industries that depend on reliable energy supplies.

AKK Pipeline Advances to 94 Per Cent

Another major infrastructure project recorded further progress in June.

NNPC said construction and installation activities on the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline had advanced to 94 per cent completion. The project remains linked to the company’s target of delivering gas to Abuja and other locations in northern Nigeria during 2026.

The AKK project has long been regarded as a potentially transformative piece of energy infrastructure because of its expected role in supplying natural gas to power generation, manufacturing and other industrial activities across the northern corridor.

Reuters previously reported that the AKK pipeline is viewed as important to the industrialisation of northern Nigeria, with potential implications for fertiliser production, electricity generation and gas-based industries in areas including Kaduna, Kano, Abuja and Ajaokuta.

Its progress, together with the near-completion of OB3, suggests that NNPC’s current strategy is focused not only on extracting hydrocarbons but also on strengthening infrastructure capable of supporting downstream economic activity.

A Company Undergoing Structural Change

The latest figures also need to be viewed within the broader transformation of NNPC.

The company was restructured under Nigeria’s Petroleum Industry Act to operate as a commercially oriented entity rather than the traditional loss-making national oil corporation. Reuters reported that NNPC has been profitable since 2020 and has increasingly pursued a more commercial operating model while preparing for a possible public share offering.

That transformation has been accompanied by a series of increasingly strong annual financial performances.

For the 2024 financial year, NNPC reported ₦5.4 trillion in profit after tax on ₦45.1 trillion in revenue, representing a 64 per cent year-on-year increase in profit, according to the company and Reuters.

The company subsequently reported ₦5.76 trillion in profit after tax and ₦60.517 trillion in revenue for 2025, alongside ₦14.706 trillion in statutory payments. Reuters reported that the 2025 figures remained provisional pending final reconciliation.

The June 2026 performance therefore forms part of a broader pattern of NNPC seeking to demonstrate stronger financial performance, operational discipline and commercial viability.

Profitability Must Be Matched With Public Value

For Nigerians, however, the significance of NNPC’s latest figures ultimately extends beyond the size of its profit.

The company remains closely connected to the country’s fiscal fortunes, energy supply, fuel distribution, gas infrastructure and broader economic development. Stronger profitability can enhance the company’s capacity to invest, maintain assets and pursue major infrastructure projects.

At the same time, the lower year-on-year statutory remittances in the first half of 2026 show why headline profits should not be interpreted in isolation.

The Federal Government has also introduced significant changes to the management of oil and gas revenues. Reuters reported in February 2026 that President Bola Tinubu directed that oil and gas revenues owed to the government be paid directly into the Federation Account, with NNPC expected to receive appropriated management fees under the new framework.

These reforms could have important implications for how NNPC’s future financial performance translates into public revenue and how its commercial activities are separated from the government’s fiscal responsibilities.

For policymakers, investors and Nigerians, therefore, the critical question is not merely whether NNPC can continue producing large monthly profits. It is whether those profits can be sustained alongside higher and more dependable production, stronger infrastructure, improved energy security and transparent contributions to government finances.

What the June Numbers Mean for Nigeria

The June 2026 results present a picture of an NNPC that is financially stronger than it was earlier in the year but still operating amid familiar structural pressures.

The ₦535 billion profit after tax is a strong monthly outcome, particularly when compared with the ₦136 billion recorded in February. Revenue remained above ₦4 trillion, natural gas production increased, and two strategically significant pipeline projects moved closer to completion.

Yet the slight reduction in oil and condensate production and the decline in first-half statutory remittances compared with 2025 provide important counterpoints.

For Obaland Magazine, the central significance of the report is therefore not simply that NNPC made ₦535 billion. It is that Nigeria’s national oil company is demonstrating stronger commercial profitability while the country continues to grapple with the more difficult task of translating petroleum wealth into stable public revenue, reliable energy supply and broad-based economic development.

The coming months will show whether the June performance represents the beginning of a sustained earnings trend or another peak within the company’s highly variable monthly financial cycle.

What is clear from the latest report is that NNPC’s transformation remains closely tied to Nigeria’s economic prospects. The performance of its oil and gas operations will continue to influence government finances, energy security, industrial activity and investor confidence across Africa’s largest economy.

As the OB3 pipeline approaches its first-gas target and the AKK project moves toward completion, the pressure will now be on NNPC to convert financial gains into operational reliability and durable value for the Nigerian economy

NNPC Limited recorded ₦535bn profit after tax in June 2026, up 15.8% from May, as revenue reached ₦4.389tn amid higher gas output and major pipeline progress.