— CBN attributes increase to improved security around oil assets
Michael Eboh
Dublin, Ireland — Nigeria earned N2.506 trillion from oil and gas operations in the country in the first quarter of 2025, rising by 63.68 per cent compared with N1.531 trillion earned from the sector in the first quarter of 2024, according to latest economic data released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The CBN, in its First Quarter 2025 Economic Report released few days back, also stated that the N2.506 trillion earned from oil and gas activities in the first quarter of 2025, was 25.06 per cent higher than the N2.004 trillion oil and gas revenue recorded in the fourth quarter of 2024.
The lender of last resort to the government attributed the rise in oil and gas earnings to sustained efforts by the Federal Government in securing the country’s oil and gas infrastructure.
However, it noted that the oil earnings for the quarter under review was 78 per cent below the N11.505 trillion budgeted revenue for the period.
Giving a breakdown of revenue from the oil and gas sector in the first quarter of 2025, the CBN disclosed that the country earned N103.82 billion from crude oil and gas exports, dropping by 43.16 per cent compared with N182.65 billion recorded in the same quarter in 2024, noting, however, that it rose by 144.8 per cent compared with N42.41 billion recorded in the fourth quarter of 2024.
The financial sector regulator added that revenue from Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT) dipped by 3.54 per cent from N366.93 billion recorded in the first quarter of 2024, to N353.95 billion in the first quarter of 2025; while it also dipped by 38.81 per cent compared with the N578.46 billion recorded in the fourth quarter of 2024.
The country’s earnings from royalties, according to the CBN, stood at N1.459 trillion, rising by 146.17 per cent and 28.1 per cent, when compared with the N592 billion and N1.139 trillion earned from royalties in the first quarter of 2024 and fourth quarter of 2024 respectively.
Furthermore, there were zero revenue from domestic crude oil and gas sales in the quarter under review, same as in the first and fourth quarters of 2024; while revenue from ‘other’ oil and gas sources stood at N589.08 billion, rising by 51.57 per cent, compared with N388.65 billion recorded in the first quarter of 2024, and an increase of 140.75 per cent compared with N244.69 billion recorded in the fourth quarter of 2024.
In general, the CBN said: “Gross federation account earnings declined relative to the preceding quarter, occasioned by a drop in non-oil revenue. At N7.22 trillion, provisional gross federation account receipts was 12.02 per cent below the level in the preceding quarter. The development was due, largely, to low non-oil proceeds, particularly independent revenue, which is inherently affected by seasonality. Non-oil revenue remained dominant, accounting for 65.30 per cent of gross federation revenue, while oil revenue constituted the balance.”
