Refined oil exports to Nigeria jump 63%, push UK–Nigeria trade to £8bn — report

Refined petroleum products have become the dominant driver of the United Kingdom’s exports to Nigeria, accounting for more than two-thirds of total goods exported to the West African nation in the four quarters ending in June 2025.

According to the latest UK–Nigeria Trade and Investment Factsheet released by the UK Department for Business and Trade (DBT), refined oil exports surged to £1.5 billion during the period, representing 68.8 per cent of all goods shipped from the UK to Nigeria.

This marked a 62.8 per cent increase compared with the corresponding period ending June 2024.

The report, which draws on data from the Office for National Statistics, revealed that total trade in goods and services between both countries rose to £8 billion, up 11.1 per cent or £793 million from the previous year.

“The UK’s total exports to Nigeria increased by 12.3 per cent to £5.6 billion, while imports from Nigeria climbed 8.2 per cent to £2.3 billion”, it added.

The DBT document noted that “total trade in goods and services (exports plus imports) between the UK and Nigeria was £8.0 billion in the four quarters to the end of Q2 2025, an increase of 11.1 per cent or £793 million in current prices from the four quarters to the end of Q2 2024.”

“Refined oil remained the mainstay of British exports to Nigeria, followed by toilet and cleansing preparations valued at £55.8 million, general industrial machinery worth £42.7 million, textile fabrics at £40.1 million, and mechanical power generators estimated at £35.1 million.

“Each of these categories recorded strong year-on-year growth, with industrial machinery exports rising by 36.4 per cent, toilet and cleansing products by 26.5 per cent, textile fabrics by 14.5 per cent, and mechanical power generators by 8.7 per cent.

“Goods exports accounted for £2.2 billion, or 38.4 per cent of total UK exports to Nigeria, while services contributed £3.5 billion, or 61.6 per cent. Goods exports rose sharply by 43.5 per cent during the period, but services exports slipped marginally by 1.1 per cent”, the report stated.

It also noted that crude oil remained Nigeria’s leading export to the UK, valued at £1.3 billion and representing 73.1 per cent of total goods shipped to Britain. Refined oil followed at £223.8 million, or 13.1 per cent, while gas exports reached £167.8 million, accounting for 9.8 per cent of total imports. Other key Nigerian exports included beverages and tobacco worth £14.6 million, up 29.8 per cent and plastics in primary forms valued at £12.8 million.

“Gas exports from Nigeria to the UK recorded the sharpest increase, jumping 75 per cent year-on-year, while refined oil and crude oil shipments rose by 62.6 per cent and 7.9 per cent respectively.

The UK maintained a trade surplus of £3.3 billion with Nigeria in the four quarters to June 2025, up from £2.8 billion a year earlier. The surplus in goods widened significantly to £441 million from £51 million, while the services surplus held steady at £2.8 billion.

Nigeria ranked as the UK’s 36th largest trading partner and 27th largest export market, accounting for 0.4 per cent of total UK trade. It was the UK’s 47th largest import partner, representing 0.2 per cent of total imports.

Despite the overall rise in trade, investment flows between both countries weakened as the UK’s foreign direct investment in Nigeria dropped by 24.7 per cent to £385 million at the end of 2023, while Nigeria’s investment in the UK fell by 41.2 per cent to £489 million during the same period.

The report highlighted that London and the South East of England accounted for the largest share of UK goods exports to Nigeria, reflecting the concentration of trade activity in those regions.

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“The UK’s overall market share in Nigeria rose to 11 per cent in 2024 from 9.7 per cent a year earlier, driven by stronger goods exports, which pushed the UK’s share of Nigeria’s total goods imports to 5.2 per cent”, it noted.

The DBT report also projected that Nigeria’s import of refined oil could decline sharply in the coming months following President Bola Tinubu’s approval of a 15 per cent import levy on petrol and diesel.

The policy, applied on Cost, Insurance and Freight values, is designed to protect the country’s growing domestic refining capacity.

Analysts linked the growing role of refined oil in Nigeria’s export mix to the operations of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, which is ramping up production capacity from 650,000 barrels per day.