Nigeria imported about 61.7 million barrels of crude oil from the United States between January 2024 and January 2026, underscoring the country’s growing rel iance on foreign feedstock to support domestic refining despite being a major oil producer.
This is despite the fact that Nigeria exported over 300 million barrels of crude in the first 10 months of 2025 and 55.39 million barrels in January and February 2026.
Data obtained from the US Energy Information Administration showed that crude exports from the United States to Nigeria surged during the period, marking a sharp reversal from nearly a decade of negligible crude trade flows between both countries.
Before 2024, American crude shipments to Nigeria were virtually non-existent. The only notable supply recorded within the period was in March 2016, when exports averaged just 19,000 barrels per day, translating to about 0.589 million barrels for the entire year.
However, the trade pattern changed significantly in 2024, coinciding with the commencement of operations at the Dangote refinery, which industry observers said has emerged as the primary buyer of US crude to supplement domestic supply constraints.