Nigeria Earns ₦12.8tn from Crude Oil Exports in Q3 2025 — NBS

Nigeria earned about ₦12.81 trillion from crude oil exports in the third quarter of 2025, reaffirming the petroleum sector’s dominance in the country’s foreign trade, according to the latest Foreign Trade in Goods Statistics released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The NBS report showed that crude oil alone accounted for 56.14 per cent of Nigeria’s total exports during the quarter, highlighting a rebound in oil export receipts and underscoring the sector’s continued importance as the country’s primary source of foreign exchange.

Although the value of crude oil exports dipped marginally by 4.47 per cent year-on-year from ₦13.41 trillion recorded in Q3 2024, it represented a 7.03 per cent increase compared with ₦11.97 trillion posted in the second quarter of 2025. The bureau noted that the quarter-on-quarter growth pointed to improved export performance despite lingering volatility in the global oil market.

Overall, mineral products—driven largely by crude oil and petroleum gases—were valued at ₦20.01 trillion, accounting for 87.71 per cent of total exports in the third quarter. This further reinforced the overwhelming influence of oil and gas in Nigeria’s external trade structure.

In addition to crude oil, exports of other oil products surged to ₦7.01 trillion in Q3 2025. This represented a sharp 51.72 per cent increase compared with ₦4.62 trillion recorded in the same period of 2024, although it was 9.42 per cent lower than the ₦7.74 trillion reported in Q2 2025. The figures reflect strong demand for petroleum-related products even as volumes fluctuated during the year.

Nigeria’s total merchandise trade stood at ₦38.94 trillion in the third quarter of 2025, representing an 8.71 per cent increase compared with the corresponding quarter of 2024 and a 2.36 per cent rise from the preceding quarter. Exports accounted for 58.59 per cent of total trade, valued at ₦22.81 trillion, while imports made up the remaining 41.41 per cent at ₦16.12 trillion.

As a result, the country recorded a positive trade balance of ₦6.69 trillion in Q3 2025, despite a 10.36 per cent decline compared with the surplus recorded in Q2 2025. The NBS attributed the surplus largely to strong oil export earnings.

A breakdown of leading export commodities showed that natural gas and other petroleum gases in a gaseous state, as well as refined petroleum products such as kerosene-type jet fuel, featured prominently among Nigeria’s top exports during the period.

Europe Tops Export Destinations

Regionally, Europe emerged as Nigeria’s largest export destination in the third quarter, absorbing ₦8.71 trillion or 38.16 per cent of total exports, driven mainly by crude oil shipments. Asia followed with ₦6.40 trillion, representing 28.07 per cent, while Africa accounted for ₦4.90 trillion or 21.49 per cent of total exports, much of which comprised petroleum products supplied to neighbouring countries.

India ranked as Nigeria’s single largest export destination during the quarter, with goods valued at ₦2.26 trillion. Spain followed with ₦1.83 trillion, France with ₦1.66 trillion, the Netherlands with ₦1.54 trillion and Italy with ₦1.46 trillion. Collectively, these five countries accounted for 38.34 per cent of Nigeria’s total exports in Q3 2025.

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The dominance of oil was even more pronounced in Nigeria’s trade with Africa and the ECOWAS sub-region. Exports to Africa stood at ₦4.90 trillion, while imports from the continent were valued at ₦595.00 billion. Crude petroleum oils alone were valued at ₦1.94 trillion, accounting for 39.57 per cent of Nigeria’s exports to Africa, followed by motor spirit (ordinary) at ₦707.05 billion and gas oil at ₦692.08 billion.

Within ECOWAS, crude oil exports were valued at ₦1.32 trillion, representing 42.14 per cent of Nigeria’s total exports to West Africa, reinforcing the country’s role as a key energy supplier in the sub-region.

Despite the strong performance of oil and oil-related trade, the NBS data revealed persistent weaknesses in non-oil exports. Agricultural exports declined by 11.69 per cent year-on-year to ₦786.62 billion, while manufactured goods exports fell by 6.03 per cent to ₦978.53 billion, highlighting ongoing challenges in diversifying Nigeria’s export base beyond crude oil.