Nigeria’s petrol import bill dropped to $10 billion in 2025, according to Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) data. In its 2025 balance of payments (BOP) report, the bank said petrol imports fell by 28.88 percent, from $14.06 billion in 2024.
The trend indicates a decline following the start of petrol production at the Dangote refinery.
On September 3, 2025, Aliko Dangote, chairman of Dangote Industries Limited, officially announced the commencement of petrol production at his refinery.
On September 3, 2025, Aliko Dangote, chairman of Dangote Industries Limited, officially announced the commencement of petrol production at his refinery.
The CBN report also showed that non-oil imports increased from $25.74 billion in 2024 to $29.24 billion in 2025, representing a 13.6 percent rise.
The report indicated that earnings from crude oil exports declined sharply by 14.41 percent, dropping from $36.85 billion in 2024 to $31.54 billion in 2025.
However, gas exports increased from $8.66 billion in 2024 to $10.51 billion in 2025, marking a 21.36 percent rise.
Non-oil exports also grew by 24.80 percent from $7.46 billion in 2024 to $9.31 billion in 2025.
The Financial account recorded a net borrowing of US$1.69 billion in 2025, as against a net lending of $9.65 billion recorded in 2024,” the CBN said.
The bank added that Nigeria’s overall balance of payments “for 2025 resulted in a surplus of $4.23 billion as against a surplus of $6.83 billion in 2024”.
$9.31 billion in 2025.
Overall, CBN said goods account — the main subset of the current account — remained in surplus, recording $14.51 billion in 2025 as against $13.17 billion in 2024
According to the report, the higher positive balance in the goods account “is driven by significant increase in gas exports to other economies and significant export of refined petroleum products worth US$5.85bn by Dangote Refinery”.
The apex bank said the trend was also driven by increased availability of refined petroleum products from the Dangote refinery, which contributed to a significant drop in fuel imports.
Balance of payment
CBN said provisional balance of payments statistics for 2025 showed a current account surplus of $14.04 billion, down from $19.03 billion recorded in the previous year.
However, the bank said the figure was significantly higher than the $6.42 billion recorded in 2023.
The CBN said the decline in the current account was largely driven by a drop in crude oil export earnings, as well as crude oil imports worth $3.74 billion by the Dangote refinery.
The apex bank also cited a rise in non-oil imports, a 9.13 percent increase in net outflows for services — from $13.36 billion in 2024 to $14.58 billion in 2025.
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