The United States imported $578.78 million worth of crude oil from Nigeria in the first quarter of 2026, down from $681.40 million in the same period of 2025, according to data from the United States Census Bureau and the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
The figures, contained in the agencies’ March 2026 international trade report, showed that U.S. imports of Nigerian crude oil on a Cost, Insurance and Freight basis fell by $102.62 million, or 15.06%, year-on-year.
Despite the decline, Nigeria remained one of Africa’s leading crude oil suppliers to the United States.
Data from the report showed that the U.S. imported 7.84 million barrels of crude oil from Nigeria between January and March 2026, compared with 8.44 million barrels during the same period in 2025. The decline represented a drop of 0.59 million barrels, or 7.03%.
On a monthly basis, imports fell sharply between February and March 2026. The U.S. imported 4.64 million barrels in February before volumes dropped to 1.54 million barrels in March, suggesting weaker demand or supply adjustments.
In value terms, imports declined from $345.33 million in February to $114.49 million in March.
Customs value data, which excludes freight and insurance costs, also showed a decline. Nigerian crude imports were valued at $561.69 million in the first quarter of 2026, compared with $663.79 million during the same period in 2025, representing a decrease of $102.10 million, or 15.38%.
The broader African trade data showed that total U.S. crude imports from Africa rose to $1.66 billion in the first quarter of 2026 from $1.10 billion in the corresponding period of 2025, reflecting changing contributions from oil-exporting countries on the continent.
Nigeria’s share of total U.S. crude imports from Africa dropped to about 34.8% in the first quarter of 2026 from 61.7% a year earlier, amid increased exports from countries including Libya and Ghana.
Despite the decline, Nigerian crude continued to account for a significant portion of U.S. oil imports because of the importance of Nigeria’s light sweet crude grades to American refiners.
The report said import values reflected the landed cost of crude oil, including freight and insurance expenses.
The figures suggest moderating U.S. demand for Nigerian crude in early 2026 amid changing global supply patterns, price movements and evolving energy trade flows.
Meanwhile, data from the monthly report of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited showed that crude oil sales dropped to 17.37 million barrels in March from 22.85 million barrels in February and 25.75 million barrels in January.
Crude oil production, however, remained unchanged at 1.56 million barrels per day in March compared with February but improved from 1.51 million barrels per day recorded in January.
NNPC said pipeline disruptions affected production during the period.
“The Trans Forcados Pipeline outage, resulting from a leak at the Keremor axis, negatively impacted production volumes, leading to curtailments across several assets from Feb. 20 to March 25, alongside other operational challenges,” the company said.
The company added that it was implementing recovery measures aimed at stabilising production and improving asset reliability.
