Nigeria leads U.S. crude oil imports from Africa despite historic trade shift

Between January and August 2025, Nigeria exported 33.23 million barrels of crude oil to the United States, valued at approximately $2.57 billion, solidifying its position as Africa’s largest crude supplier to the U.S. market.

This volume accounted for over half of all African crude exports to the U.S. during that period.

The U.S. Mission celebrated this strong trade relationship, noting its role in fostering job creation and shared prosperity.

However, this robust export performance comes amid a notable shift in bilateral oil trade dynamics.

Earlier in 2025, a historic reversal occurred when Nigeria, for the first time, imported more crude oil from the United States than it exported during the months of February and March. According to U.S. Energy Information Administration data, U.S. exports to Nigeria surged to 169,000 barrels per day in March, while imports from Nigeria fell to 72,000 b/d over the same period.

Analysts attribute this shift primarily to the expanding domestic refining capacity in Nigeria, spearheaded by the massive 650,000-barrel-per-day Dangote Refinery.

As the refinery ramps up operations, its demand for crude has temporarily altered Nigeria’s export flow and increased imports for optimal feedstock blending.

Looking forward, expectations are that Nigeria’s crude exports to the U.S. will rebound in 2026. This anticipated increase is linked to the Dangote Refinery’s expansion into international markets for refined products, a move projected to curb Nigeria’s fuel import dependency, conserve foreign exchange, and enhance overall sector efficiency.

About The Author

Dele Fashomi

Dele Fashomi, seasoned journalist and communication teacher, is a holder of Master of Arts degree in Communication and Language Arts from the University of Ibadan in 1992/93.

Earlier, he had bagged a Bachelor degree from the same university in 1984, after which he proceeded to the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos, in 1990, for a postgraduate diploma in Journalism.

He had done many courses in communication, including the EU-BBC Editing Course in 2002.

Mr. Fashomi combines effectively the practice, research and teaching of communication. And to date, he has published two academic works in communication: Issues in Communication Technology and Policy (2010) and Economic and Social Issues in Advertising and PR (2013).

He had his first break in the Nigerian media in Concord Newspapers in 1990 and today, he has over two and half decades experience earned in several newspapers.

He has been part of many start-ups, such as The Republic (1987), The Comet (1999), The Anchor 2001 – 2002; Sun Newspapers (2003); Westerner newsmagazine (2005 – 2010) as Editor; National Life (2011) as Sunday Editor, and Newswatch Newspapers (2012- 2016) as Daily Editor.

Dele Fashomi is now the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Newstide247.com newspaper online, which he started in July 2015. He is also into biography writing, with many books in his trail, some of which he wrote alone and one he co- authored with his mentor, Mr Dare Babarinsa, entitled: Olabiyi Durojaiye – DARE TO BE DiFFERENT. He also guided and collaborated with Pa Olatunji Odusanya in writing his autobiography – AGAINST ALL ODDS. There are many other books in the works under his pen.

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