KEY POINTS
- Nigeria earned $31.54 billion from crude oil exports in 2025, a 14.41 percent drop from 2024 despite higher production.
- Gas exports and refined petroleum shipments boosted total oil and gas exports to $48.17 billion.
- Rising imports, service payments, and investor remittances reduced the Balance of Payments surplus to $4.23 billion.
Nigeria earned $31.54 billion from crude oil exports in 2025, according to data released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The figure represents a 14.41 percent decline from the $36.85 billion recorded in 2024, highlighting weaker oil earnings despite crude remaining the country’s primary source of foreign exchange.
The drop in oil revenue also contributed to a reduction in Nigeria’s current account surplus, which fell to $14.04 billion in 2025 from $19.03 billion in the previous year. The CBN attributed the decline largely to reduced earnings from crude oil exports.
Data from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission showed crude oil production increased to 530.41 million barrels in 2025, up from 408.68 million barrels recorded in 2024. However, total production, including condensates, reached 599.64 million barrels, falling short of the 766.5 million barrels target.
Nigeria also missed its OPEC production quota in most months of the year. Operational disruptions and outages were cited as major factors affecting output and overall revenue performance.
Gas exports and refining support overall exports
Despite lower crude oil earnings, total oil and gas exports improved during the year. Combined exports rose to $48.17 billion in 2025, compared with $45.51 billion in 2024. Gas exports increased by 21.36 percent to $10.51 billion, while refined petroleum exports reached $6.13 billion.
The improvement in refined product exports was partly attributed to increased domestic refining capacity, including contributions from the Dangote Refinery, which boosted exports of finished petroleum products.
Non-oil imports climbed to $29.24 billion, while payments for services such as travel, transport, and insurance also increased. In addition, remittances to foreign investors through dividends and interest payments rose significantly, placing pressure on the country’s external balance.
Fuel imports declined from $14.06 billion to $10 billion due to improved local refining. However, Nigeria still imported $3.74 billion worth of crude oil for domestic refining purposes.
Nigeria’s Balance of Payments surplus dropped to $4.23 billion in 2025, compared with $6.83 billion in 2024. Despite the decline, foreign reserves improved, rising to $45.75 billion by the end of the period.
Overall, the data showed that while Nigeria produced more crude oil in 2025, lower earnings from exports and rising imports reduced the country’s external gains.
