UK Refined Oil Exports to Nigeria Reach £1.5bn

According to the latest UK–Nigeria Trade and Investment Factsheet released by the UK Department for Business and Trade, refined oil now accounts for more than two-thirds of the United Kingdom’s total goods exports to Nigeria in the four quarters ending June 2025 and rising sharply to £1.5bn.

The report, which is based on data from the Office for National Statistics, revealed 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 at the end of June 2024.

Total UK exports to Nigeria increased 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.

Based on the report, the “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 second quarter of 2025, an increase of 11.1 per cent or £793m in current prices from the four quarters to the end of second quarter  2024.

Of this £8.0bn, while the total UK exports to Nigeria amounted to £5.6bn in the four quarters to the end of second quarter of 2025 (an increase of 12.3 per cent or £616m in current prices, compared to the four quarters to the end of second quarter in 2024)”.  Which makes the total UK imports from Nigeria amounted to £2.3bn in the four quarters to the end of second quarter of 2025 (an increase of 8.2 per cent or £177m in current prices, compared to the four quarters to the end of second quarter of 2024).

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

Crude oil on the other hand 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.