Nigeria imported about 61.7 million barrels of crude oil from the United States between January 2024 and January 2026, highlighting the country’s growing reliance on foreign feedstock to support domestic refining despite being one of Africa’s largest oil producers.
The development comes even as Nigeria exported more than 300 million barrels of crude oil in the first 10 months of 2025 and an additional 55.39 million barrels in January and February 2026.
Data obtained from the US Energy Information Administration showed that crude shipments from the United States to Nigeria surged during the period, marking a sharp reversal from nearly a decade of minimal crude trade flows between both countries.
Before 2024, American crude exports to Nigeria were virtually non-existent. The only notable supply recorded was in March 2016, when exports averaged about 19,000 barrels per day, translating to roughly 0.589 million barrels for the entire year.
However, the trade pattern shifted significantly in 2024 following the commencement of operations at the Dangote refinery. Industry observers say the refinery has emerged as the primary buyer of US crude to supplement domestic supply shortages.
The EIA reports its crude export data in thousands of barrels per day, meaning the daily figures must be multiplied by the number of days in each month to determine the total monthly volume.
For 2024, available data covering January to June showed that Nigeria imported a total of 15.701 million barrels of US crude within six months.
In January 2024, imports averaged 125,000 barrels per day, translating to 3.87 million barrels. February recorded 110,000 barrels per day or 3.19 million barrels, while March dropped to 51,000 barrels per day, equivalent to 1.58 million barrels.
Imports rose again in April to 67,000 barrels per day, representing 2.01 million barrels, before declining to 35,000 barrels per day in May, equivalent to 1.08 million barrels. June recorded the highest inflow for the period at 132,000 barrels per day, amounting to about 3.96 million barrels.
The volume increased further in 2025, which accounted for the largest share of imports during the two-year period. Between February and December 2025, Nigeria imported about 41.06 million barrels of crude oil from the United States.
According to EIA data, imports began the year at 111,000 barrels per day in February and rose steadily in the following months.
The peak occurred in June 2025 when shipments reached 305,000 barrels per day, the highest monthly rate recorded in the dataset. This translated to about 9.15 million barrels within 30 days.
Another strong inflow was recorded in August 2025 at 201,000 barrels per day, equivalent to approximately 6.23 million barrels.
However, supply volumes slowed significantly towards the end of the year. Imports dropped to 12,000 barrels per day in November, amounting to just 0.36 million barrels, before rising slightly to 23,000 barrels per day or 0.71 million barrels in December.
For 2026, available data showed that Nigeria imported 159,000 barrels per day in January, translating to about 4.93 million barrels.
A breakdown of the figures indicates that the combined imports from 2024 through January 2026 reached 61.685 million barrels, which rounds up to approximately 61.7 million barrels.
The development underscores a longstanding paradox in Nigeria’s oil sector: the country exports large volumes of crude oil while struggling to supply adequate feedstock to domestic refineries.
For decades, Nigeria depended heavily on importing refined petroleum products such as petrol and diesel due to limited refining capacity. However, the commissioning of the Dangote refinery in 2024 shifted the pattern, with the country now importing crude oil for local processing instead of finished fuels.
President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, previously stated that crude imports from the United States were largely driven by the need to bridge the gap between domestic supply and the refinery’s operational requirements.
The Dangote refinery, one of the world’s largest single-train refineries, requires substantial daily feedstock to run at optimal capacity, consuming more than 19 million barrels of crude monthly.
Industry sources also disclosed that the refinery imports crude from Ghana and other African countries, even as Nigeria continues to sell large volumes of its own crude abroad.
Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria showed that the country exported about 306.7 million barrels of crude oil between January and October 2025 despite concerns over feedstock shortages for domestic refineries.
The figures indicated that while Nigeria produced approximately 443.5 million barrels during the 10-month period—an average of about 1.45 million barrels per day—a significant portion of the output was exported.
Exports during the period accounted for roughly 69 per cent of total production, leaving about 137 million barrels for domestic consumption.
Similarly, Nigeria exported 55.39 million barrels of crude oil in the first two months of 2026 while the Dangote refinery continued to grapple with limited local feedstock supply.
According to CBN data, the country exported 31.31 million barrels in January and 24.08 million barrels in February.
Crude production averaged 1.46 million barrels per day in January, with exports at 1.01 million barrels per day. In February, production dropped to 1.31 million barrels per day while exports averaged 0.86 million barrels per day.
Total production for the two months stood at 81.94 million barrels, meaning that about 26.55 million barrels were available for domestic refineries during the period.
The Dangote refinery has on several occasions complained about inadequate crude supply despite the government’s naira-for-crude arrangement, forcing it to source feedstock from the United States and other countries, including Ghana.
Similarly, the Crude Oil Refiners Association of Nigeria has warned that some modular refineries under its umbrella shut down intermittently due to inadequate crude supply.
Industry analysts say resolving the supply gap will be crucial to ensuring that Nigeria’s refining capacity expansion translates into lower fuel imports and greater energy security.
