Nigeria’s imports of crude oil from the United States rose by 153 per cent in the first nine months of 2025.
The US Energy Information Administration disclosed this in its latest data analysed.
Okay News reports that between February and September 2025, Nigeria imported 39.99 million barrels of crude oil from the US.
This figure represents a significant rise from the 15.79 million barrels recorded in the same period of 2024.
A month-by-month breakdown of the data shows that US crude shipments to Nigeria increased steadily in 2025.
There was no record of such an import in January in either year, according to available data.
In February, Nigeria imported 3.11 million barrels, slightly lower than the 3.61 million barrels recorded in the same month of 2024.
March 2025 saw 5.25 million barrels, up from 3.42 million barrels in March 2024.
By April 2025, imports stood at 2.04 million barrels, compared to 1.54 million barrels in April 2024.
The upward trend continued in May 2025, with 3.79 million barrels, against 2.08 million barrels in the same month the previous year.
A sharp spike occurred in June 2025, when Nigeria imported 9.16 million barrels, more than eight times the 1.04 million barrels imported in June 2024.
In July 2025, US exports to Nigeria hit 4.17 million barrels, just above the 4.10 million barrels recorded in July 2024.
For August and September 2025, US crude exports to Nigeria remained steady at 6.24 million barrels each month.
Dangote Refinery Drives Crude Import Surge
The surge indicates that the Dangote Refinery’s crude intake is entering a steady ramp-up, with US light sweet crude favoured for its compatibility with complex refining processes.
However, the rising reliance on imported US barrels highlights a longstanding paradox for Nigeria as Africa’s biggest oil producer.
Despite being an OPEC member, Nigeria has historically exported crude while importing refined products because its state refineries are moribund.
The Dangote refinery was expected to address this by using domestic crude oil to reduce reliance on imports.
However, the latest data show it is still relying on foreign supply to optimise operations.
The Federal Government earlier disclosed that a total of 67,657,559 barrels of crude oil were supplied to local refiners for processing between January and August 2025.
This figure, confirmed by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), highlights the ongoing challenges in bridging the crude allocation gap faced by indigenous refineries.
The commission noted that crude allocation was made in line with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021 and the Domestic Crude Supply Obligation policy.
According to the commission, through its Head of Media and Strategic Communications, Eniola Akinkuotu, the barrels were delivered to both modular and state-owned refining facilities.
However, the volume supplied fell short of refiners’ demand by a wide margin.
Local processors had requested 123,480,500 barrels for the first half of 2025, meaning they received 55,822,941 barrels—or about 45 per cent—less than required.
Data from commodities analytics firm Kpler showed that in July, US barrels accounted for approximately 60 per cent of Dangote’s 590,000 barrels per day of crude intake.
Nigerian grades made up the remaining 40 per cent, primarily comprising Amenam, Bonny Light, and Escravos.
