Despite maintaining its position as Africa’s largest crude oil producer, Nigeria imported crude oil worth ₦1.19 trillion in the first quarter of 2025 due to inadequate domestic crude supply to local refineries, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The NBS disclosed this in its Foreign Trade in Goods Statistics report for Q1 2025, where crude oil classified as “Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals, crude” ranked as Nigeria’s third most imported product, accounting for 7.7% of total imports in the quarter.
U.S. Supplies Over 60% of Imported Crude
Further analysis of the data reveals that the United States was Nigeria’s primary source of imported crude, supplying ₦726.84 billion worth of the commodity, representing approximately 61% of the total value. Other significant suppliers included Angola with ₦223.58 billion and Algeria with ₦122.37 billion.
Together, these three countries accounted for the majority of the crude oil imported into Nigeria during the quarter, highlighting the widening gap between local refining capacity and domestic crude availability.
Refineries Turn to Foreign Markets Amid Local Supply Gaps
Local refineries, including modular operators and large-scale facilities such as the Dangote Refinery, have increasingly resorted to importing crude feedstock as domestic allocations fall short. Although the NBS did not name specific importers, the trend reflects systemic inefficiencies in Nigeria’s crude oil allocation policies.
In total, Nigeria spent ₦4.78 trillion on importing gas oil, petrol, and crude oil during Q1 2025, accounting for over 30% of its total imports, which stood at ₦15.43 trillion.
Policy Failures Undermine Domestic Refining
While Nigeria’s crude production climbed above 1.4 million barrels per day, access to this crude by local refineries remained severely limited. The Crude Oil Refinery-owners Association of Nigeria (CORAN) confirmed that many local refiners received zero allocation under the Domestic Crude Supply Obligation (DCSO) framework.
“Local refiners, especially the modular ones, have not been getting crude zero allocation,” said CORAN Publicity Secretary Eche Idoko. “Most have had to resort to private imports just to stay operational.”
According to Idoko, despite regulatory reforms under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, producers and traders continue to divert crude meant for domestic use to the international market for foreign exchange gains.
Regulators Take Action Amid Rising Concern
In response, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has moved to ban the export of crude designated for local refining. NUPRC Chief Executive Gbenga Komolafe warned that such diversions violate Nigerian law and that export permits will now be denied for crude cargoes meant for domestic refineries.
The Commission disclosed that eight operational refineries, including Dangote, require a combined 770,500 barrels of crude per day in the first half of 2025 to run optimally. These include:
- Dangote Refinery
- OPAC (10,000 bpd) – Delta State
- WalterSmith (5,000 bpd) – Imo State
- Duport Midstream (2,500 bpd) – Edo State
- Edo Refinery (1,500 bpd) – Edo State
- Aradel (11,000 bpd) – Rivers State
- Port Harcourt Refinery (60,000 bpd) – Rivers State
- Warri Refinery (125,000 bpd) – Delta State
- Kaduna Refinery (110,000 bpd) – Kaduna State
This allocation represents 37% of Nigeria’s projected daily average crude production for the first half of 2025.
Crude Exports Still Dominate Despite Domestic Needs
Despite efforts to localise refining, Nigeria exported ₦12.96 trillion worth of crude oil and petroleum products in Q1 2025, making up 62.89% of the country’s total exports. Crude oil alone still leads as Nigeria’s top export commodity, far ahead of others like LNG, urea, and cocoa.
However, the export value of crude oil declined 16.35% year-on-year from ₦15.49 trillion in Q1 2024, and 6.01% from ₦13.78 trillion in Q4 2024.
Top destinations for Nigeria’s crude oil exports included India, the Netherlands, the United States, France, and Spain, reaffirming the country’s heavy reliance on foreign markets despite its downstream sector struggles.
Industry Calls for Urgent Support
Operators in the sector continue to urge President Bola Tinubu and his economic team to prioritise support for domestic refining, particularly for modular refinery investors. Idoko noted that while regulators like the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) have reduced licensing costs, incentives for local processors remain inadequate compared to those given to importers.
“We hope the IOCs will cooperate with the new directive. We’re appealing to the President and his team to support local refineries. They’re investing heavily and can help strengthen the naira and reduce fuel imports,” he concluded.
