Refined oil accounted for over two-thirds of the United Kingdom’s total goods exports to Nigeria in the year ending June 2025, rising sharply to £1.5 billion, according to The PUNCH. The figures, drawn from the UK–Nigeria Trade and Investment Factsheet published by the UK Department for Business and Trade and based on Office for National Statistics data, show refined oil as the dominant contributor to bilateral trade.
Refined oil represented 68.8 per cent of UK goods exports to Nigeria, marking a 62.8 per cent increase compared to the year ending June 2024. Overall UK exports to Nigeria climbed 12.3 per cent to £5.6 billion, while imports from Nigeria grew by 8.2 per cent to £2.3 billion, bringing total trade in goods and services to £8 billion—an 11.1 per cent rise, equivalent to £793 million, from the previous year.
Refined oil remained the primary export, followed by toilet and cleansing products (£55.8m), industrial machinery (£42.7m), textile fabrics (£40.1m), and mechanical generators (£35.1m). All top categories recorded growth, with industrial machinery rising 36.4 per cent, toilet products 26.5 per cent, textile fabrics 14.5 per cent, and generators 8.7 per cent.
UK goods exports made up £2.2 billion (38.4 per cent) of total exports to Nigeria, while services accounted for £3.5 billion (61.6 per cent). Notably, goods exports increased by 43.5 per cent, whereas services slightly declined by 1.1 per cent.
For Nigerian exports, crude oil dominated, valued at £1.3 billion and representing 73.1 per cent of all shipments to the UK. Refined oil followed at £223.8 million (13.1 per cent), and gas exports reached £167.8 million (9.8 per cent). Other items included beverages and tobacco (£14.6m) and primary plastics (£12.8m). Nigerian gas exports surged 75 per cent year-on-year, while refined oil grew 62.6 per cent, and crude oil rose 7.9 per cent.
The Dangote Petroleum Refinery, with a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day and plans to double output, is increasingly enabling Nigeria to export refined products instead of crude alone.
The UK ran a trade surplus of £3.3 billion with Nigeria in the year to June 2025, up from £2.8 billion the previous year. The surplus in goods expanded to £441 million from £51 million, while the services surplus remained at £2.8 billion. Nigeria ranks as the UK’s 36th largest trading partner and 27th largest export market, accounting for 0.4 per cent of UK trade, and 47th among import partners at 0.2 per cent of total UK imports.
Despite rising trade, investment flows declined. UK foreign direct investment in Nigeria dropped 24.7 per cent to £385 million, while Nigerian investment in the UK fell 41.2 per cent to £489 million. London and the South East of England remain the primary hubs for UK exports to Nigeria, while the UK’s overall market share in Nigeria grew to 11 per cent, with goods imports increasing to 5.2 per cent.
Looking ahead, Nigeria’s import of refined oil is expected to decline following President Bola Tinubu’s approval of a 15 per cent levy on petrol and diesel imports. Applied on Cost, Insurance, and Freight (CIF) values, the levy is expected to increase landed costs by roughly N99.72 per litre, making imported fuel less competitive against locally refined products. Analysts note the measure could initially raise pump prices but may support domestic refineries such as Dangote and other modular facilities, stabilizing supply and strengthening Nigeria’s refining sector in the medium term, though some warn it could also increase the cost burden on consumers.
