Data obtained from the Balance of Payments Highlights of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has indicated a rise in Nigeria’s crude oil imports from the $340 million recorded in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2025 to $1.39 billion in the first period (Q1 2026) of this year.

The figure contained in the CBN’s first quarter (Q1 2026) report represents a 308. 82 per cent quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) increase in the same period under review.

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The development comes amid the rapid expansion of local refining capacity led by the Dangote Refinery, which has continued to increase production volumes of petroleum products.

According to the report, the figure accounted for about 81.8 per cent of the country’s total imports of crude oil, gas and refined petroleum products, which stood at $1.70 billion during the review period.

The increase in crude imports, however, contrasted with a collapse in refined petroleum product imports, which fell by 87.5 per cent to $310 million in Q1 2026 from $2.48 billion in the preceding quarter.

Oracle Intelligence recalls that earlier in the week, the Special Adviser to the President on Oil and Gas, Mrs Olu Verheijen had disclosed that local production of premium motor spirit (PMS) or petrol has hit 48 million litres per day (lpd).

Mrs Verheijen, who disclosed this at the Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce Energy Day 2026, Tuesday, said the figure rose from the reported zero recorded in 2023.

Speaking on the topic, “Energy in Nigeria: From Potential to Reality,”

Verheijen noted that for the first time in a generation, the majority of the petrol Nigerians consume is now refined at home.

“This is where energy reform meets the strength of the naira.

“For decades, every cargo of imported petrol was a standing demand for scarce dollars, a structural drain that weakened our currency.

“As local refining has risen, that drain has eased: petrol imports fell from about N2.3 trillion in the first quarter of 2025 to under N90 billion a year later.

“Fewer dollars spent on fuel means less pressure on the naira. Energy security and currency stability are not separate goals. They are the same goal,” she said.

On crude oil and condensate production, the special adviser said the country had restored investors’ confidence.

According to her, crude oil and condensate production averaged 1.64 million barrels per day in 2025.

She said the production was up by roughly 400,000 barrels a day since 2023 and was at the highest onshore level in two decades.