Despite a robust N12.96 trillion earnings from crude oil and petroleum product exports in the first quarter of 2025, Nigeria’s domestic refineries continue to suffer from poor access to feedstock due to sluggish enforcement of key crude supply mandates.
Data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealed that the oil and gas sector accounted for 62.89 per cent of Nigeria’s total exports in the first quarter, underscoring the country’s heavy reliance on hydrocarbon sales to sustain its foreign trade balance. The latest figures are contained in the NBS’ Foreign Trade in Goods Statistics report for Q1 2025, made public on Thursday.
The country recorded a trade surplus of N5.17 trillion during the period, reflecting a 51.07 per cent rise from the N3.42 trillion reported in Q4 2024. Total trade value stood at N36.02 trillion, up 6.19 per cent year-on-year.
While oil exports continue to drive trade performance, crude exports dropped by 16.35 per cent from N15.49 trillion in Q1 2024 and by 6.01 per cent when compared with the previous quarter’s N13.78 trillion.
Crude oil remains Nigeria’s largest export commodity, far outpacing liquefied natural gas, petroleum gases, urea, and cocoa beans. The top export destinations during the period were India, the Netherlands, the United States, France, and Spain, reiterating Nigeria’s dependence on international buyers amid limited refining capacity at home.
However, the sustained export of crude has once again raised concerns over feedstock supply to local refineries, many of which have decried their inability to access domestic crude, despite existing policy frameworks designed to guarantee availability.
Operators under the umbrella of the Crude Oil Refinery Owners Association of Nigeria (CORAN) lamented that crude producers continue to prefer dollar-denominated exports to foreign buyers, leaving indigenous refiners stranded. The group highlighted that both the Domestic Crude Supply Obligation (DCSO) and Domestic Crude Refining Requirement (DCRR) key provisions under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021 remain largely unenforced.
“The transition to a self-reliant refining sector remains stalled due to contradictions in policy and a lack of implementation,” CORAN Publicity Secretary, Eche Idoko, said in a recent statement. “Restricting naira-for-crude deals to just the Dangote Refinery defeats the spirit of the policy.”
The NBS report shows India imported the largest volume of Nigerian crude in Q1 2025, spending N1.41 trillion. It was followed by the Netherlands (N1.36tn), France (N1.28tn), Spain (N989.5bn), and the United States (N779.3bn). Within Africa, South Africa led crude purchases at N704.7bn, followed by Côte d’Ivoire (N403.9bn), Senegal (N327.8bn), and Ghana (N50.5bn).
Despite domestic challenges, Nigeria’s non-crude oil exports showed strong performance. Other oil products generated N4.48 trillion in Q1 2025, marking a 134.24 per cent increase from the N1.91 trillion recorded a year earlier and a 32.07 per cent rise from Q4 2024’s N3.39 trillion.
The NBS further noted:
“Crude oil exports in Q1 2025 were valued at N12.95tn, a 16.35 per cent decrease from N15.48tn in Q1 2024 and a 6.01 per cent drop from N13.78tn in Q4 2024.
Other oil product exports stood at N4.48tn, up from N1.91tn in Q1 2024 and N3.39tn in Q4 2024.”
Meanwhile, imports of refined petroleum products fell sharply, highlighting shifts in downstream dynamics. Nigeria spent N3.79 trillion on petroleum imports in Q1 2025 a significant 42.20 per cent drop from the N6.55 trillion recorded in Q1 2024 and a 21.19 per cent decline from the N4.81 trillion figure in Q4 2024.
This contraction in imports is seen as a reflection of improved domestic refining efforts particularly from the Dangote Refinery, which recently commenced phased operations but also underscores the pressing need for consistent crude supply to other indigenous refining facilities across the country.
As Nigeria navigates a complex energy landscape, industry stakeholders continue to urge the federal government and regulatory bodies to fully implement crude allocation policies to ensure local refineries are not starved of feedstock especially as the country strives to reduce reliance on fuel imports and maximise local refining capacity.
