Precious Anga
Lagos — Nigeria spent $1.39 billion on crude oil imports in the first quarter of 2026 despite rising local refining capacity, according to new data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The CBN’s Balance of Payments report showed that crude oil imports jumped from $340 million in the fourth quarter of 2025 to $1.39 billion in Q1 2026, representing a 308.8 per cent increase.
The surge comes as local refineries, particularly the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, increasingly source crude from international markets to supplement domestic supplies.
Data showed that crude oil imports accounted for 81.8 per cent of Nigeria’s combined imports of crude oil, gas and refined petroleum products, which stood at $1.70 billion during the period.
However, imports of refined petroleum products fell sharply, indicating growing reliance on local refining.
The report revealed that fuel imports dropped by 87.5 per cent to $310 million in Q1 2026 from $2.48 billion recorded in the previous quarter.
The decline reflects increased production from domestic refineries, which are gradually replacing imported fuels in the Nigerian market.
At the same time, exports of refined petroleum products rose by 20.3 per cent to $2.37 billion, compared to $1.97 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025.
The development suggests Nigeria is steadily transitioning from a major fuel importer to an exporter of refined petroleum products.
Crude oil exports also improved during the quarter, rising by 19.8 per cent to $8.11 billion from $6.77 billion.
Gas exports increased by 13 per cent to $2.53 billion, while total exports climbed to $15.49 billion from $13.36 billion in the preceding quarter.
Meanwhile, total imports declined by 17.7 per cent to $9.54 billion, helping Nigeria record a goods trade surplus of $5.95 billion.
The stronger trade performance lifted the country’s current account surplus to $4.98 billion, up from $1.40 billion in the previous quarter.
Nigeria’s external reserves also improved, rising to $48.35 billion at the end of March 2026 from $45.75 billion in December 2025.
Despite the positive trade figures, concerns remain over crude supply to domestic refineries.
Earlier data from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission showed that local refineries received only 28.5 million barrels of crude oil in the first quarter, despite higher volumes allocated under the Domestic Crude Supply Obligation framework.
Industry operators have attributed the growing reliance on imported crude to pricing considerations and differences in crude grades available in the domestic market.
