Nigeria imported about 61.7 million barrels of crude oil from the United States between January 2024 and January 2026, highlighting a rising dependence on foreign crude despite the country’s position as a major oil producer.
This comes even as Nigeria exported more than 300 million barrels of crude in the first ten months of 2025 and an additional 55.39 million barrels in the first two months of 2026, showing a strong outward flow of production alongside increasing imports.
Available data indicates that crude shipments from the United States to Nigeria surged significantly starting in 2024, marking a major shift from previous years when such trade was almost non-existent. Before this period, only minimal volumes were recorded, with negligible supply in earlier years.
The trend change coincided with the start of operations at the Dangote refinery, which has increased domestic demand for crude oil feedstock. Industry observers say the refinery’s scale and processing needs have influenced Nigeria’s decision to import crude to support local refining rather than relying solely on domestic supply.
In 2024, Nigeria imported over 15 million barrels of US crude, with monthly volumes fluctuating throughout the year. Imports continued to rise in 2025, which accounted for the largest share of total shipments over the two-year period, including a peak month where daily inflows reached their highest level on record.
By early 2026, import figures remained strong, contributing to the cumulative total of 61.7 million barrels over the full period under review.
The situation reflects a growing contradiction in Nigeria’s oil sector, where large volumes of crude are exported while domestic refineries still struggle to secure enough feedstock for local processing.
The Dangote refinery, one of the world’s largest single-train facilities, requires massive daily crude supply to operate efficiently. However, it has repeatedly faced supply shortages, prompting imports from the United States and other countries to bridge the gap.
Despite producing over 443 million barrels between January and October 2025, Nigeria exported a significant share of its output, leaving limited volumes for domestic consumption and refining needs.
A similar pattern continued into early 2026, with millions of barrels exported even as local refineries reported challenges accessing sufficient crude under domestic supply arrangements.
The development has raised concerns within the downstream oil sector, as modular refineries and other local operators also continue to experience intermittent shutdowns due to inconsistent crude availability.
