Nigeria earned ₦998.5 billion from petrol exports in the first six months of 2026, marking a major shift for a country that previously relied heavily on imported fuel.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics’ trade data, ₦621.72 billion of the earnings came from African trading partners.
In the second quarter of 2026 alone, petrol, also known as Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), generated ₦546.02 billion, making it Nigeria’s seventh-largest export and accounting for 2.02 per cent of total exports.
Crude oil remained Nigeria’s largest export, generating ₦12.91 trillion, followed by kerosene-type jet fuel, natural gas, urea, other petroleum gases and gas oil.
The latest figures represent a sharp turnaround from 2025. In the first quarter of 2025, Nigeria spent ₦1.76 trillion importing PMS, while petrol exports in the second quarter of that year amounted to only ₦85.83 billion.
Analysts attributed the increase largely to the expansion of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, which has reduced Nigeria’s dependence on imported petrol and created a surplus for export.
Investment research analyst Abeeblahi Rufai said limited petrol exports in early 2025 reflected insufficient surplus production, while refinery maintenance and domestic supply obligations also constrained exports.
He said the subsequent increase was driven by the Dangote refinery’s rising production and disruptions to global fuel supplies caused by the Iran war.
The conflict disrupted energy flows through the Middle East, including the Strait of Hormuz, while sanctions on Russia and attacks on Russian refining facilities further tightened global refined-product supplies.
Rufai said Dangote Refinery’s location gave Nigeria a logistical advantage in supplying African markets because shorter shipping distances reduced transportation costs.
Senior analyst at CardinalStone Securities, Tomiwa Adeniji, said Nigeria’s refining capacity had increased from about 400,000 barrels per day at very low utilisation before Dangote Refinery began operations to about 1.1 million barrels per day at roughly 62 per cent utilisation.
She said Dangote Refinery began producing PMS in September 2024 and that Nigeria had now transitioned into a net exporter of refined petroleum products.
Economist and Chief Executive Officer of Economic Associates, Dr Ayo Teriba, said the refinery initially focused on replacing imports before expanding into exports of petrol, diesel and aviation fuel.
Meanwhile, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, said increased local participation in oil production could further support Nigeria’s refining and export ambitions.
According to Lokpobiri, indigenous companies now account for about 60 per cent of Nigeria’s oil production, while the number of active drilling rigs has increased from between 10 and 14 to more than 65.
He added that Nigeria is targeting crude oil production of at least three million barrels per day in the coming years.
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