Nigeria’s refined petroleum product exports generated $3.94 billion in the second quarter of 2026, as rising domestic refining activity continued to reshape the country’s petroleum trade and strengthen shipments to overseas markets.
The value represents a 66.2 percent increase from the $2.37 billion recorded in the first quarter and a 148 percent jump from the $1.59 billion reported in the corresponding period of 2025.
The figures are contained in an analysis of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Balance of Payments Highlights for the first and second quarters of 2026. The CBN did not provide comparable refined petroleum export data in its Q1 2025 report.
The latest performance adds to evidence of a changing structure in Nigeria’s petroleum exports, with refined products taking a larger role in external trade as domestic processing capacity expands.
The growth was accompanied by a strong expansion in Nigeria’s oil refining sector, which grew 43.94 percent year-on-year in the second quarter, its strongest quarterly expansion on record. The increase was driven largely by higher activity at the Dangote Petroleum Refinery.
The shift is also reflected in Nigeria’s seaborne petroleum product trade.
Data from the US Energy Information Administration showed that Nigeria’s seaborne petroleum product exports averaged 350,000 barrels per day in Q2 2026, compared with an annual average of 46,000 barrels per day in 2023.
Total seaborne petroleum product shipments averaged 561,000 barrels per day during the quarter, with Europe taking about 130,000 barrels per day. European volumes rose from roughly 40,000 barrels per day in 2025 and 15,000 barrels per day in 2023.
Other African markets received nearly 120,000 barrels per day, while about 110,000 barrels per day went to destinations in Asia and Oceania.
The expansion in refined product exports has coincided with increased crude availability for domestic refineries.
Nigeria supplied 53.7 million barrels of crude oil and condensate to local refineries during the quarter, with the Dangote refinery accounting for the dominant share of crude supplied to domestic processors.
The refinery had indicated a requirement for 63 million barrels during the period, while producers offered 68.1 million barrels. It ultimately accepted 52.6 million barrels, representing about 78 percent of the crude volume offered to it.
The changing export profile is not limited to seaborne volumes. Refined petroleum products also accounted for a larger proportion of the United Kingdom’s imports from Nigeria than crude oil during the 12 months ended March 2026, indicating a notable shift in the composition of energy trade between both countries.
The stronger export performance also comes as Nigeria’s dependence on imported petrol declines.
The country’s petrol import bill fell to ₦87.40 billion in the first quarter of 2026, compared with ₦2.27 trillion in Q1 2025, reflecting the growing contribution of domestic refining to local petroleum supply.
The combination of higher refining output, increased crude supply to local processors, and expanding overseas shipments points to a broader shift in Nigeria’s petroleum trade, with refined products increasingly contributing to export earnings alongside crude oil.