Crude Export Earnings Fall ₦1.75tn in Q1 – NBS
Nigeria’s crude oil export earnings fell by ₦1.75 trillion in Q1 2026, despite a rally in global oil prices, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The NBS report showed crude exports dropped to ₦11.20tn, down from ₦12.96tn in Q1 2025, though higher than ₦9.70tn in Q4 2025. This represents a 13.5% year-on-year decline, even as receipts rose quarter-on-quarter.
Crude oil remained Nigeria’s dominant export, but its share of total exports fell to 52.9%, compared with 62.9% a year earlier, highlighting weaker reliance on crude.
Overall exports rose slightly to ₦21.17tn, driven by stronger non-crude oil and petroleum product sales. Non-crude oil exports grew to ₦9.97tn, while other petroleum products surged to ₦6.78tn, a 51.5% increase.
India was Nigeria’s top export destination, accounting for ₦2.77tn (13.1%), followed by France, the Netherlands, Spain, and the U.S. Together, these five countries made up 44.8% of exports.
Regionally, Europe led with ₦7.93tn (37.4%), followed by Asia at ₦6.42tn and Africa at ₦4.06tn.
Despite lower crude earnings, Nigeria recorded a stronger trade surplus of ₦7.55tn, up from ₦1.71tn in Q4 2025, largely due to reduced imports, which fell to ₦13.62tn from ₦16.64tn a year earlier.
The decline in crude exports coincided with weaker oil production, averaging 1.55 million barrels per day, down from 1.62mbpd in Q1 2025, suggesting that lower output offset the benefits of higher international prices, which peaked at $118 per barrel in March 2026.