In a striking contradiction, Nigeria—Africa’s leading oil producer—spent N1.19 trillion importing crude oil in the first quarter of 2025, making crude the third most imported commodity, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The surprising shift is attributed to the unreliable domestic supply to local refineries, forcing operators to seek more stable feedstock sources abroad.
The NBS report revealed that crude oil imports made up 7.7% of total imports, behind only gas oil (N1.83 trillion) and premium motor spirit (N1.76 trillion). Local refineries, including the high-profile Dangote Refinery and modular facilities, have increasingly turned to foreign crude suppliers, citing policy failures such as the Domestic Crude Supply Obligation and Domestic Crude Refining Requirement as key reasons for the domestic shortfall.
The United States emerged as the leading supplier, accounting for 61% of Nigeria’s crude imports, valued at N726.84 billion. Angola and Algeria followed with N223.58 billion and N122.37 billion, respectively. Although the report did not identify specific recipient refineries, the import trend underscores a deep-rooted structural weakness in Nigeria’s oil supply chain and the ineffectiveness of current reforms.
Overall, Nigeria spent N4.78 trillion on petroleum product imports in Q1 2025—over 30% of the country’s total import bill of N15.43 trillion. Mineral fuels as a category dominated imports, totaling N4.97 trillion or 32.23% of the total. The U.S. also ranked as Nigeria’s third-largest import partner, largely due to these oil-related imports.
Despite the imports, Nigeria still exported N12.96 trillion in crude oil and petroleum products, making up nearly 63% of total exports. However, crude exports saw a year-on-year drop of 16.35%. Top buyers included India, the Netherlands, and the U.S. The growing gap between abundant crude production and inadequate domestic refining continues to raise concerns about the country’s energy independence and the real impact of ongoing downstream oil sector reforms.
Source: Nairametrics