Nigeria earned far less money from selling crude oil in the first six months of 2025, according to new figures from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
Between January and June, crude oil exports dropped to N24.92 trillion, down from N28.10 trillion in the same period of 2024. That is a fall of N3.18 trillion, or 11.3 percent.
Crude oil has always been Nigeria’s main export and a big source of government revenue. But in Q1 2025, the country made N12.96 trillion from oil exports, which fell further to N11.97 trillion in Q2.
Oil’s share of total exports also shrank from 71.2 percent in Q2 2024 to just 52.6 percent in Q2 2025.
This shows that Nigeria is depending less on crude oil for foreign earnings — a worrying sign for government finances, but also proof that other sectors are beginning to grow.
Non-Oil Exports on the Rise
While crude exports fell, non-crude exports — such as refined petroleum products, semi-processed goods, and agricultural produce — rose sharply.
Non-crude exports grew from N8.79 trillion in H1 2024 to N18.43 trillion in H1 2025. Of this, non-oil exports like farm produce and solid minerals contributed just above N3 trillion in each quarter.
The biggest jump came from refined petroleum products and semi-processed goods.
As a result, non-crude exports now make up 41 percent of Nigeria’s exports, compared to only 24 percent last year.
Even though crude oil exports dropped, Nigeria’s overall trade balance improved.
In the first half of 2025, Nigeria exported goods worth N43.35 trillion and imported goods worth N30.71 trillion.
This left the country with a trade surplus of N12.64 trillion, which is 54.6 percent higher than the N8.17 trillion recorded in the first half of 2024.
In Q2 alone, Nigeria’s surplus widened by 44.3 percent to N7.46 trillion. Exports rose to N22.75 trillion in Q2 (a 10.5 percent increase from Q1), while imports dipped slightly to N15.29 trillion.
The Big Picture
Nigeria is selling less crude oil abroad, which is bad news for government revenue. But the country is now earning more from other goods, especially refined petroleum products.
At the same time, imports are falling slightly. Together, these factors are helping Nigeria’s trade account look healthier, even though oil earnings are down.
The challenge, however, remains fuel imports. Nigeria spent N4 trillion importing fuel in just the first six months of 2025, with N2.3 trillion in Q2 alone. For context, the full-year fuel import bill in 2024 was N15.4 trillion.
This means Nigeria is still losing a huge amount of foreign exchange on fuel, despite having one of the world’s largest crude reserves.
