Despite a significant increase in domestic refining capacity, Nigeria spent $4.86 billion on petroleum imports in 2025 as demand for foreign fuel and oil-sector inputs remained elevated.
The latest figures, contained in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s 2025 Annual Report, showed that foreign exchange allocated to oil-sector imports more than doubled from $2.26 billion in 2024, making petroleum imports one of the largest consumers of the country’s foreign currency resources.
The oil sector accounted for 25.91 percent of all foreign exchange used for visible imports, ranking only behind industrial imports in terms of demand for foreign currency.
Overall, Nigeria’s foreign exchange utilisation rose sharply in 2025 as businesses, manufacturers and service providers increased demand for imported goods and offshore payments.
According to the CBN, total foreign exchange utilisation climbed to $42.83 billion, compared with $26.88 billion in the previous year.
Visible imports represented $18.76 billion, while invisible transactions such as financial services, travel and other cross-border payments accounted for the larger share of total foreign exchange demand.
Although the commencement of large-scale refining at the Dangote Petroleum Refinery was expected to reduce Nigeria’s dependence on imported petroleum products, the transition was still incomplete throughout much of 2025.
During the period, imported petrol continued to dominate domestic fuel supply as marketers relied heavily on foreign sources to meet national demand.
Industry data showed that Nigeria consumed approximately 18.97 billion litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) in 2025. Imported fuel supplied 11.85 billion litres, representing 62.47 percent of total consumption, while domestic refineries accounted for the remaining 37.53 percent.
Beyond finished petroleum products, the oil import bill also reflects purchases of crude oil for local refining, lubricants, petrochemical feedstocks, refinery catalysts, additives, equipment and other specialised products required across the downstream petroleum value chain.
The CBN report showed that petroleum imports recorded one of the fastest increases among major import categories during the year, outpacing growth in manufactured goods, transportation equipment and agricultural imports.
Meanwhile, spending on industrial imports declined slightly despite remaining the country’s largest category of visible imports. Foreign exchange allocated to food imports and mineral products also fell compared with the previous year.
Invisible transactions expanded even more rapidly than merchandise imports.
Foreign exchange utilisation for financial services, transport, business services and international travel rose significantly, pushing total invisible import payments above $24 billion, or more than half of all foreign exchange utilised during the year.
Nigeria’s petroleum import profile, however, has begun to change in 2026.
The continued expansion of production at the Dangote Petroleum Refinery has significantly reduced fuel import volumes with official industry data showing petrol imports declined substantially during the first half of the year as local refining captured a larger share of domestic demand.
The shift reflects the gradual restructuring of Nigeria’s downstream petroleum market following fuel price deregulation and increased competition between domestic refiners and fuel importers.
Industry operators say purchasing decisions remain driven primarily by price competitiveness rather than the origin of supply.
With profit margins remaining relatively thin, marketers continue to source products from whichever supplier offers the most competitive pricing, whether domestic or international.