Lagos, Nigeria — Nigeria’s Central Bank (CBN) released over $1.25 billion to oil sector players in the first three months of 2025 to fund the importation of petroleum products, according to new data.
The expenditure underscores the ongoing reliance on foreign sources for fuel despite the operational capacity of the new Dangote Refinery, which recently began exporting petrol to countries including the United States.
Data from the CBN’s quarterly statistical bulletin for the first quarter of 2025 shows that a total of $1.259 billion was disbursed for import transactions between January and March. This foreign exchange expenditure comes as local marketers continue to compete with the new domestic refinery for dominance in the country’s downstream sector.
Marketers Prioritize Price over Local Supply
Petroleum marketers imported 69% of the 21 billion litres of petrol consumed in Nigeria between August 2024 and October 2025. In the first quarter of 2025 alone, 2.28 billion litres of petrol were imported.
The Central Bank’s disbursements were spread across the quarter:
- January: $457.83 million
- February: $283.54 million
- March: $517.55 million, the largest share
This trend of continued importation, even with the availability of locally refined products, is driven by market economics. Chinedu Ukadike, the National Publicity Officer of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, confirmed that marketers’ decisions are based solely on cost advantage.
“In this business, pricing is everything. Marketers will always go for the most affordable option because our margins are very thin. If imported products are cheaper, we have no choice but to patronise importers,” Ukadike stated.
The price gap between imported fuel and locally refined products fluctuates based on global oil prices, exchange rates, and government policies, forcing marketers to prioritise the lowest cost to remain in business.
While the amount disbursed for imports represents one of the lowest quarterly figures in recent years, reflecting a gradual shift towards local refining, fuel imports remain a significant consumer of Nigeria’s foreign exchange, impacting the country’s foreign reserves and the value of the naira.
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