Precious Anga
Lagos — Nigeria spent $1.39 billion on crude oil imports in the first quarter of 2026, marking a sharp increase as local refiners, particularly the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, turned increasingly to foreign feedstock despite the country’s position as Africa’s largest crude producer.
Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Balance of Payments report showed crude oil imports rose from $340 million in the fourth quarter of 2025 to $1.39 billion in Q1 2026, representing a 308.8 per cent quarter-on-quarter increase.
The surge comes as domestic refining capacity expands rapidly. While the Dangote refinery has significantly boosted production and exports of refined petroleum products, it has also relied heavily on imported crude grades to supplement local supplies.
According to the report, crude oil accounted for 81.8 per cent of Nigeria’s total imports of crude oil, gas and refined petroleum products, which stood at $1.70 billion during the review period. The figures underline the refinery’s growing dependence on foreign crude despite regulatory efforts to strengthen domestic supply arrangements.
In contrast, imports of refined petroleum products plunged by 87.5 per cent to $310 million from $2.48 billion recorded in the previous quarter. The decline reflects the increasing replacement of imported fuels with locally refined products.
The CBN noted that lower fuel imports contributed significantly to the country’s improved external position. “Refined petroleum products imports declined to $0.31bn in Q1 2026, from $2.48bn in Q4 2025,” the report stated.
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 preceding quarter. The trend suggests Nigeria is gradually transitioning from a major fuel importer to a growing exporter of refined products.
The country’s trade performance also strengthened during the quarter. The goods account surplus increased to $5.95 billion from $1.77 billion in the previous quarter and $3.35 billion in the corresponding period of 2025.
Crude oil export earnings climbed by 19.8 per cent to $8.11 billion, while gas exports rose 12.9 per cent to $2.53 billion. Total exports reached $15.49 billion, while imports declined by 17.7 per cent to $9.54 billion.
As a result, Nigeria’s current account surplus jumped to $4.98 billion in Q1 2026, up from $1.40 billion in the previous quarter and $3.41 billion a year earlier. The CBN attributed the improvement to stronger crude oil, gas and refined product exports, lower fuel imports and reduced primary income outflows.
Despite the stronger current account position, the country’s overall balance of payments surplus eased slightly to $2.38 billion from $2.67 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025. However, external reserves increased to $48.35 billion at the end of March 2026, up from $45.75 billion three months earlier.
The development comes amid concerns over crude supply to local refiners. Data from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission showed that local refineries received only 28.5 million barrels of crude in the first quarter, despite producers offering 68.7 million barrels under the Domestic Crude Supply Obligation framework.
Industry stakeholders say commercial considerations remain a major factor behind the growing preference for imported crude. The Publicity Secretary of the Crude Oil Refiners Association of Nigeria, Eche Idoko, argued that pricing structures and crude quality differentials favour imported grades.
“So one of the major issues we are having with Dangote buying more crude from the U.S. is because of the type of products offered and the pricing. It is based on commercials,” Idoko said.
He explained that while Nigerian producers largely market Brent-linked crude at a premium, the refinery often imports West Texas Intermediate crude, which is more compatible with its configuration and commercially attractive.
According to him, revising domestic crude pricing mechanisms to better reflect the needs of local refiners could help reduce reliance on imported feedstock and strengthen Nigeria’s refining value chain.
