Nigeria’s crude oil producers exported approximately N12.96 trillion worth of the product in the first quarter (Q1) of 2025, amid reports that some local refiners were experiencing difficulties in assessing crude oil for their operations.
This represents a N2.53 trillion or 16.34% drop when compared to the N15.49 trillion worth of crude oil that was exported in Q1 2024 and a N828 billion or 6.01% drop when compared to the N13.78 trillion worth of the product that was exported in Q4 2024.
According to the latest Foreign Trade in Goods Statistics released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and seen by Nairametrics, the N12.96 trillion crude oil export represents 62.89% of Nigeria’s total export value of N20.6 trillion for Q1 2025.
Nigeria’s trade surplus
Despite the drop in crude oil exports, Nigeria recorded a trade surplus of N5.17 trillion in Q1 2025, an increase of 51.07% from the N3.42 trillion posted in the previous quarter. The country’s total trade value stood at N36.02 trillion, reflecting a 6.19% year-on-year increase.
The report also noted that total trade for Q1 2025 reached N36.02, a 6.19 per cent increase compared to the same period in 2024.
Despite the dip, crude oil remained the country’s dominant export commodity, far outpacing other products such as liquefied natural gas, petroleum gases, urea, and cocoa beans.
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 (N1.36 trillion), France (N1.28 trillion), Spain (N989.5 billion), and the United States (N779.3 billion). Within Africa, South Africa led crude purchases at N704.7 billion, followed by Côte d’Ivoire (N403.9 billion), Senegal (N327.8 billion), and Ghana (N50.5 billion).
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% increase from the N1.91 trillion recorded a year earlier and a 32.07% rise from Q4 2024’s N3.39 trillion.
The -states, “Crude oil exports in Q1 2025 were valued at N12,955.03 billion; the value decreased by 16.35% from N15,486.63 billion in Q1 2024 and by 6.01% from N13,783.00 billion in Q4 2024.
‘’Other oil product exports in Q1 2025 stood at N4,475.58 billion, showing an increase of 134.24% rise from N1,910.71 billion in Q1 2024 and as well as increaseof 32.07% from N3,388.80 billion in Q4, 2024.’’’
Petrol import also crashes
The NBS also reported that Nigeria’s petrol import bill fell sharply in the first quarter of 2025, dropping to N1.76 trillion from N3.81 trillion recorded in the corresponding period of 2024.
The decline is largely attributed to increased domestic supply from the Dangote Refinery, which has continued to scale up operations.
The report further shows that petrol was Nigeria’s most imported product from ECOWAS countries in the first quarter of 2025, accounting for N89.18 billion or 44.51% of total imports from the subregion.
What you should know
Crude oil remained Nigeria’s dominant export commodity, significantly outpacing other key exports such as liquefied natural gas, petroleum gases, urea, and cocoa beans.
The major export destinations during the period included India, the Netherlands, the United States, France, and Spain, showing Nigeria’s continued reliance on international buyers amid limited domestic refining capacity.
Meanwhile, in a related development, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NUPRC), in its latest crude oil and condensate production reported that Nigeria’s crude oil production declined to 1,452,941 barrels of oil per day (bpd) in May 2025.
This represents a 2.20% drop compared to the 1,485,700 bpd in April.
With the addition of condensate, the NUPRC said oil production dropped from 1.68 million bpd in April to 1.65 million bpd in May.
The NUPRC also noted that the average crude oil production for May represents 97% of the 1.5 million bpd quota set for Nigeria by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
