The United States sharply reduced its imports of Nigerian crude oil in January 2026, with purchases falling by about 47.16 per cent month-on-month, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Data from the U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services report showed that crude imports from Nigeria dropped to 1.664 million barrels in January 2026, down from 3.149 million barrels recorded in December 2025.
This represents a decline of 1.485 million barrels within a month, highlighting a significant contraction in Nigeria’s share of the U.S. crude market.
In value terms, the decline was also substantial. The customs value of Nigerian crude imports fell from $217.36m in December to $115.99m in January, while the cost, insurance and freight value declined from $223.10m to $118.95m over the same period.
sThe difference between both measures reflects additional costs such as shipping and insurance included in CIF values but excluded from customs valuation. The narrower gap between the two values in January suggests relatively lower freight or insurance costs during the period.
The drop occurred amid a broader slowdown in total U.S. crude imports, which declined from 198.29 million barrels in December to 188.21 million barrels in January, representing a drop of about 5.1 per cent. Total import value also fell, with customs value decreasing from $11.41bn to $10.56bn, while CIF value dropped from $12.04bn to $11.15bn.
Within Africa, Nigeria lost ground to some competitors. While total African crude exports to the U.S. remained flat at 6.933 million barrels, Angola recorded a sharp increase, rising from 575,000 barrels in December to 2.062 million barrels in January. Ghana also emerged as a new supplier with 738,000 barrels, having recorded no measurable exports in December, while Libya’s exports to the U.S. declined from 2.137 million barrels to 1.086 million barrels.
Nigeria’s share of total U.S. crude imports weakened to about 0.88 per cent in January, down from roughly 1.59 per cent in December, reflecting the sharp reduction in volumes.
Further analysis showed that crude oil remained the dominant component of Nigeria’s exports to the United States. Total U.S. imports from Nigeria stood at $183m in January 2026, compared to $297m in December 2025. With crude oil imports valued at $115.99m on a customs basis and $118.95m on a CIF basis, crude accounted for roughly 63 to 65 per cent of total U.S. imports from Nigeria in January, compared with about 73 per cent in December.
The U.S. recorded a goods trade surplus of $419m with Nigeria in January, up from $84m in December, driven by a rise in U.S. exports to Nigeria, which increased from $381m to $602m even as imports from Nigeria declined.
Across Africa, however, the U.S. posted a trade deficit of $503m in January, reversing a $174m surplus recorded in December. Total U.S. imports from Africa rose from $2.88bn to $3.54bn, while exports to the region edged slightly lower from $3.05bn to $3.04bn.
Earlier reports indicated that Nigeria accounted for about 52 per cent of Africa’s crude oil exports to the United States in 2025. Total U.S. crude imports from Africa stood at 89.371 million barrels in 2025, down from 103.631 million barrels in 2024. Nigeria supplied 46.618 million barrels in 2025, compared to 50.793 million barrels in 2024, representing a year-on-year decline.
Despite the lower volume, Nigeria’s share of Africa’s crude exports to the U.S. rose to 52.2 per cent in 2025, up from 49.0 per cent in 2024.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited reported a profit after tax of N385bn in January 2026, even as crude oil and condensate production rose to 1.64 million barrels per day, according to its latest monthly operational report. The company generated N2.571tn in revenue during the month and remitted N726bn as statutory payments to the Federation. However, revenue fell sharply from N4.82tn recorded in December 2025.
The decline in crude exports to the U.S. occurred despite higher production levels and comes amid renewed U.S. protectionist trade policies and tariff measures associated with U.S. President Donald Trump, which have influenced global trade flows.
Although crude oil exports are largely exempt from the tariff regime, higher duties on non-oil exports have created uncertainty for American importers and dampened demand for Nigerian goods.
Economist and Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, Dr Muda Yusuf, downplayed the impact of U.S. tariffs on Nigeria, noting that Nigeria’s trade exposure to the U.S. remains limited and largely dominated by crude oil and a few commodities. He, however, identified U.S. visa policies and travel restrictions as a bigger long-term challenge to trade and investment relations between both countries.
