Crude oil and non-crude exports each accounted for roughly 50% of Nigeria's total export value in H1 2026

Key Takeaways

  • Nigeria’s crude and non-crude exports were nearly equal in H1 2026, at ₦24.1tn and ₦24tn, respectively.
  • Non-crude exports overtook crude in Q2 for the first time in at least six years, reaching ₦14.11tn.
  • Petroleum products and natural gas dominate non-crude exports, while non-oil exports accounted for just 13.8% of Q2 exports.
  • Nigeria’s export mix is shifting, but remains heavily dependent on hydrocarbons.

Nigeria’s export mix is now almost evenly split between crude and non-crude. In H1 2026, Nigeria exported about ₦24.1tn worth of crude oil and ₦24tn in non-crude products, putting the two almost at parity.

The balance shifted in Q2, when non-crude exports overtook crude for the first time in at least six years, reaching ₦14.11tn compared with ₦12.91tn for crude.

But this is not yet a move away from oil. Petroleum products and natural gas account for much of the non-crude total, while non-oil exports were just ₦3.72tn, or 13.8% of total exports, in Q2.

Nigeria’s export mix is changing, but hydrocarbons still dominate.

Source:

National Bureau of Statistics

Period:

H1 2020-H1 2026
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