Refined oil accounted for more than two-thirds of the United Kingdom’s total goods exports to Nigeria in the four quarters ending June 2025, rising sharply to £1.5bn, The PUNCH reports.

This is according to the latest UK–Nigeria Trade and Investment Factsheet released by the UK Department for Business and Trade.

The report, based on data from the Office for National Statistics, showed that refined oil made up 68.8 per cent of all goods exported from the UK to Nigeria during the period, representing a 62.8 per cent increase compared with the four quarters ending June 2024.

Total UK exports to Nigeria rose by 12.3 per cent to £5.6bn, while imports from Nigeria increased by 8.2 per cent to £2.3bn, bringing total bilateral trade in goods and services between both countries to £8bn—up 11.1 per cent or £793m from the previous year.



The document read, “Total trade in goods and services (exports plus imports) between the UK and Nigeria was £8.0bn in the four quarters to the end of Q2 2025, an increase of 11.1 per cent or £793m in current prices from the four quarters to the end of Q2 2024. Of this £8.0bn.

“Total UK exports to Nigeria amounted to £5.6bn in the four quarters to the end of Q2 2025 (an increase of 12.3 per cent or £616m in current prices, compared to the four quarters to the end of Q2 2024).

“Total UK imports from Nigeria amounted to £2.3bn in the four quarters to the end of Q2 2025 (an increase of 8.2 per cent or £177m in current prices, compared to the four quarters to the end of Q2 2024).”

According to the document, refined oil remained the key driver of UK exports to Nigeria, followed by toilet and cleansing preparations valued at £55.8m, general industrial machinery worth £42.7m, textile fabrics at £40.1m, and mechanical power generators estimated at £35.1m.

All five top export categories recorded increases from the previous year, with industrial machinery exports up by 36.4 per cent, toilet and cleansing products rising by 26.5 per cent, textile fabrics increasing by 14.5 per cent, and mechanical power generators growing by 8.7 per cent.

Goods exports accounted for £2.2bn—about 38.4 per cent of total UK exports to Nigeria—while services made up £3.5bn, or 61.6 per cent. However, while goods exports rose by 43.5 per cent during the period, services exports fell slightly by 1.1 per cent.

On the other hand, crude oil was Nigeria’s top export to the UK, amounting to £1.3bn and representing 73.1 per cent of all goods shipped to Britain. Refined oil followed at £223.8m, accounting for 13.1 per cent, while gas exports totalled £167.8m, or 9.8 per cent of total imports.

Other exports from Nigeria to the UK included beverages and tobacco valued at £14.6m, which rose by 29.8 per cent, and plastics in primary forms worth £12.8m.

The data showed that gas exports from Nigeria to the UK surged by 75 per cent year-on-year—the fastest-growing category—while refined oil exports increased by 62.6 per cent and crude oil shipments grew by 7.9 per cent.

The Dangote Petroleum Refinery — designed to process up to 650,000 barrels of crude a day and planning to double its production capacity — is increasingly enabling Nigeria to export refined oil products rather than simply crude.

The UK recorded a trade surplus of £3.3bn with Nigeria in the four quarters to June 2025, up from £2.8bn a year earlier. The trade in goods surplus widened to £441m from £51m, while the services surplus remained at £2.8bn.

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

Despite the growth in trade, investment flows between the two countries weakened. The stock of UK foreign direct investment in Nigeria fell by 24.7 per cent to £385m at the end of 2023, while Nigeria’s investment in the UK declined by 41.2 per cent to £489m during the same period.

The report also showed that London and the South East of England accounted for the largest share of the UK’s goods exports to Nigeria in 2024, highlighting the concentration of trade activity in those regions.

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

The PUNCH observed that Nigeria’s import of refined oil is projected to fall sharply in the coming months following President Bola Tinubu’s approval of a 15 per cent import levy on petrol and diesel— a policy aimed at protecting the country’s growing local refining capacity.

The new levy, applied on Cost, Insurance and Freight values, is expected to raise the landed cost of imported refined products by about N99.72 per litre, making foreign fuel imports far less competitive compared to locally refined products.

In response to the development, dissenting voices from industry experts and petroleum marketers have continued to grow louder, with many questioning the timing and potential impact of the 15 per cent import tariff.

Industry analysts say the move will discourage imports and redirect market demand towards domestic suppliers such as the 650,000-barrel-per-day Dangote Petroleum Refinery and other modular refineries across the country.

Energy experts argue that while the levy could initially push up pump prices, it is likely to stabilise supply and strengthen Nigeria’s refining sector in the medium term. Other experts see it as a double-edged policy that could boost government revenue but also worsen the economic hardship faced by Nigerians.