Nigeria recorded N998.50bn in petrol export earnings during the first six months of 2026, as increased production from the Dangote Petroleum Refinery helped transform the country from a major petrol importer into an emerging exporter.
The National Bureau of Statistics’ trade statistics showed that N621.72bn of the earnings in the period came from African trading partners.
In the second quarter of 2026, petrol, also known as Premium Motor Spirit or motor spirit (ordinary), generated N546.02bn and ranked seventh among Nigeria’s leading exports. It accounted for 2.02 per cent of total exports.
Crude oil remained the country’s biggest export at N12.91tn, representing 47.79 per cent of total exports. It was followed by kerosene-type jet fuel at N2.94tn, natural gas at N2.82tn, urea at N2.12tn, other petroleum gases at N1.89tn and gas oil at N1.32tn.
The figures mark a major change from the previous year. Petrol was not among Nigeria’s leading exports in the first quarter of 2025, while the country spent N1.76tn importing the product.
PMS returned to the export list in Q2 2025, generating N85.83bn. By Q2 2026, earnings had risen to N546.02bn, more than six times the figure recorded a year earlier.
Investment research analyst Abeeblahi Rufai told The PUNCH that limited petrol exports in Q1 2025 were linked to a lack of surplus refined products, as domestic demand absorbed much of the available supply.
He also cited operational challenges involving the Dangote Refinery’s Residue Fluid Catalytic Cracking unit, as well as domestic supply obligations under the naira-for-crude arrangement.
Rufai said the subsequent increase in exports was driven largely by the expansion of the Dangote Refinery and disruptions to global refined-product supplies linked to the Iran war.
He explained that several African countries had traditionally relied on refined petroleum products from suppliers in the Middle East, Asia and Europe.
According to him, the Dangote Refinery’s location gives it a logistical advantage in African markets because shorter shipping routes can reduce freight and transportation costs.
Rufai said disruptions to energy flows through the Middle East, including the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, affected supplies to Asian and European markets and encouraged some countries to restrict refined-product exports.
He added that sanctions affecting Russia, alongside attacks on Russian refining infrastructure, further tightened global supplies.
Senior Analyst at CardinalStone Securities, Tomiwa Adeniji, said Nigeria’s previous dependence on imported fuel despite its crude oil production was largely due to inadequate refining capacity and low utilisation.
She said Nigeria’s refining capacity had increased from about 400,000 barrels per day at roughly one per cent utilisation before the Dangote Refinery came on stream, to 1.1 million barrels per day at approximately 62 per cent utilisation.
Adeniji noted that the Dangote Refinery began PMS production in September 2024, although utilisation remained relatively low during the early stages of its operation.
She said Nigeria had now moved into the position of a net exporter of refined petroleum products.
Economist and Chief Executive Officer of Economic Associates, Dr Ayo Teriba, also linked the development to the Dangote Refinery’s initial focus on meeting domestic demand.
Teriba said the refinery was now supplying more than 50 per cent of local requirements, reducing the country’s dependence on imported PMS and potentially eliminating the need for petrol imports in the medium term.
He added that the refinery had expanded into exports of PMS, diesel and aviation fuel, products that Nigeria previously imported.
Meanwhile, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, said government policies under President Bola Tinubu had increased the participation of indigenous companies in Nigeria’s oil production.
Speaking to journalists in Abuja on Monday, Lokpobiri said indigenous companies now account for 60 per cent of oil production, compared with the 80 to 90 per cent share previously held by international oil companies.
He explained that international oil companies had not completely left Nigeria but had divested from onshore, swamp and shallow-water assets while concentrating on deep offshore operations.
Lokpobiri also said the number of active drilling rigs had increased from between 10 and 14 to more than 65.
He said Nigeria was targeting crude oil production of at least three million barrels per day in the coming years.
Source: PUNCH
