Nigeria Imports £1.1bn Refined Oil from UK in 2025

Nigeria imported £1.1 billion worth of refined oil from the United Kingdom in 2025, underscoring its continued reliance on foreign petroleum products despite efforts to expand local refining capacity.

According to the UK Department for Business and Trade’s Trade and Investment Factsheet, refined oil accounted for 60.5% of all UK goods exports to Nigeria, rising 9.4% year-on-year.

The report showed that refined oil exports dwarfed other categories: toilet and cleansing products (£70.2m), textile fabrics (£45.7m), industrial machinery (£42.2m), and beverages and tobacco (£34.6m).

Overall, UK goods exports to Nigeria stood at £1.8bn, meaning refined oil alone contributed three out of every five pounds earned from British exports.

Total trade in goods and services between both countries reached £7.6bn in 2025, up 10.8% from 2024. UK exports rose to £5.5bn, while imports from Nigeria increased to £2.1bn, leaving the UK with a £3.3bn trade surplus.

Services dominated UK exports at £3.7bn (67.7%), while goods made up £1.8bn (32.3%). Nigeria ranked as the UK’s 38th largest trading partner globally, and its 28th largest export destination.

The UK expanded its share of Nigeria’s import market, rising to 10.9% in 2024 from 9.7% in 2023, with goods imports share increasing to 5.1% from 4.1%.

The report comes as Nigeria pushes to reduce dependence on imports through the Dangote Refinery and rehabilitation of state-owned refineries, while also deepening trade ties following President Tinubu’s State Visit to the UK in March 2026.