US buys $578m Nigerian crude in three months – Report

The United States spent $578.78m on crude oil imports from Nigeria in the first quarter of 2026, down from $681.40m in the corresponding period of 2025, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

The latest figures, contained in the agencies’ March 2026 international trade report, show that the value of U.S. imports of Nigerian crude oil on a Cost, Insurance and Freight basis stood at $578.78m year-to-date, down by $102.62m or 15.06 per cent from the $681.40m recorded in the same period of 2025.

This comes despite Nigeria maintaining a steady position among key African crude suppliers to the United States, even as overall trade dynamics shifted.

A breakdown of the data shows that the U.S. imported 7.84 million barrels of crude oil from Nigeria in the first three months of 2026, compared to 8.44 million barrels in the same period of 2025. This represents a decline of 0.59 million barrels or 7.03 per cent year-on-year.

On a monthly basis, U.S. imports from Nigeria dropped sharply between February and March 2026. In February 2026, imports stood at 4.64 million barrels before falling to 1.54 million barrels in March, indicating weaker short-term demand or supply adjustments.

In value terms, the CIF value of Nigerian crude imports also declined month-on-month from $345.33m in February 2026 to $114.49m in March 2026.

The customs value data, which excludes freight and insurance costs, followed a similar pattern. Year-to-date customs value for Nigerian crude stood at $561.69m in 2026, compared to $663.79m in 2025, reflecting a drop of $102.10m or 15.38 per cent.

The broader African context shows that Nigeria remained a major contributor to U.S. crude imports from the continent, although overall African exports to the U.S. also declined. Total U.S. crude imports from Africa stood at $1.66bn in the first quarter of 2026, up from $1.10bn in 2025, indicating shifting contributions among African exporters.

Within Africa, Nigeria’s share of total U.S. crude imports from the continent dropped to about 34.8 per cent in Q1 2026, from roughly 61.7 per cent in the same period of 2025, highlighting increased competition from other suppliers such as Libya and Ghana.

Despite the year-on-year decline, Nigeria’s crude still accounted for a notable share of U.S. oil imports, reflecting the continued relevance of its light sweet crude grades in the American refining system.

The U.S. trade report noted that import values reflect the landed cost of crude oil, including freight and insurance, providing a more comprehensive measure of trade flows than customs values alone.

The data points to a moderation in U.S. demand for Nigerian crude in early 2026, driven by a mix of shifting global supply patterns, price movements, and evolving energy trade flows.

Details from the most recent monthly report of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited showed that crude oil sales dropped sharply to 17.37 million barrels in March, down from 22.85 million barrels in February and 25.75 million barrels in January, suggesting that evacuation and logistics challenges persist.

An analysis of the figures also showed that crude oil output remained flat in March compared to February at 1.56 million barrels per day, but improved from 1.51 million barrels per day recorded in January.

In its report, NNPC acknowledged that pipeline disruptions significantly impacted output during the period. It stated, “The Trans Forcados Pipeline outage, resulting from a leak at the Keremor axis, negatively impacted production volumes, leading to curtailments across several assets from February 20 to March 25, alongside other operational challenges.”

Despite these setbacks, the company maintained that it is implementing targeted recovery strategies to stabilise output. It noted, “NNPC Limited continues to strengthen production resilience by executing restoration plans focused on improving asset reliability, resolving evacuation constraints, and implementing other targeted recovery initiatives.”