… N4.879trn received from gas exports in Q2’ 2025
… reforms boosts investment, oil output, drilling activity
By Charles Ebi
Nigeria earned N371.536 billion from the export of Premium Motor Spirit ,PMS, also known as petrol, in the second quarter of 2025, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics ,NBS.
Specifically, the NBS, in its Second Quarter 2025 Foreign Trade in Goods Report disclosed that fuel export accounted for 1.63% of Nigeria’s total exports of N22.75 trillion recorded in the quarter under review.
So far, Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited, on record, is the only exporter of PMS, also called fuel, from Nigeria, following the completion of its 650 million barrels per day crude oil refinery, situated at the Lekki Free Trade Zone, in Lagos, Nigeria.
Furthermore, the NBS reported that of the total amount of PMS exported in the second quarter of 2025, N85.833 billion, representing 23.1% of the total PMS export, was exported to countries within the West African sub-region, while the rest was exported outside the continent.
In comparison, the NBS disclosed that the country spent N2.376 trillion on the importation of Premium Motor Spirit ,PMS, in the period under review, rising by 34.92% compared with N1.761 trillion spent on the import of the same commodity in the first quarter of 2024.
However, the NBS noted that the amount spent on fuel import in the second quarter of 2025 was 26.26% lower than the N3.222 trillion spent on fuel import in the same quarter in 2024.
In addition, the statistics agency reported that the country earned N4.879 trillion from the export of natural gas and other gas products in the second quarter of 2025, rising by 25.78% from N3.879 trillion recorded from the exports of the same commodities in the first quarter of 2025.
Giving a breakdown of the products, the NBS stated that the country earned N1.991 trillion from the export of ‘other petroleum gases’, accounting for 8.75% of total exports in the period under review; while natural gas export and Liquefied Natural Gas’ exports fetched the country N1.933 trillion and N954.903 billion, respectively, accounting for 8.5% and 4.2%, respectively, of the period’s total exports.
In comparison, in the first quarter of 2025, the country earned N1.933 trillion from Natural gas exports; N1.781 trillion from ‘other petroleum gases’; and N165.817 billion from the export of Liquefied Petroleum Gas ,LPG, representing 9.38%, 8.65% and 0.80%, respectively, of total exports in the first quarter of 2025.
Furthermore, the NBS stated that the country earned N913.507 billion from the export of Aviation Turbine Kerosene ,ATK, also known as jet fuel, rising by 189.8% from N315.242 billion recorded in the first quarter of 2025.
In general, the statistics agency reported that Nigeria’s total merchandise trade stood at N38.038 trillion in the second quarter of 2025, rising by 20.05% compared with N31.684 trillion recorded in the corresponding period of 2024; while it also appreciated by 5.59% compared with N36.025 trillion recorded in the preceding quarter.
It added that exports accounted for 59.81% of total trade with a value of N22.751 trillion, showing an increase of 28.43% over the N17.714 trillion recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2024; and also rose by 10.45% compared to the N20.598 trillion recorded in the first quarter of 2025.
Conversely, the NBS stated that “imports accounted for 40.19% of total trade in the second quarter of 2025, with a value of N15.287 trillion representing a 9.43% increase compared to N13.969 trillion recorded in second quarter 2024, and 0.90% decrease from N15.426 trillion recorded in first quarter 2025.
“The merchandise trade balance for second quarter 2025 remained positive at N7.464 trillion, indicating an increase of 44.31% compared to the value recorded in the preceding quarter”.
Nigeria has boosted daily crude oil output to between 1.7 million and 1.83 million barrels and the number of active drilling rigs from 31 in January to 50 by July, as reforms under President Bola Tinubu begin to unlock investment in the petroleum sector.
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, announced the figures during a keynote address at Africa Energy Week in Cape Town, delivered on behalf of the president.
He said the “Project One Million Barrels” initiative, launched in October 2024, was driving recovery in the upstream sector.
Lokpobiri declared Nigeria “open for business”, citing the Petroleum Industry Act as a key reform that has created a transparent and predictable environment for investors.
“What makes Nigeria now different is the legal, regulatory, financial, and structural transformation we are delivering”, he said.
The Minister said recent asset divestments by international oil companies had triggered over $5.5 billion in final investment decisions, adding around 200,000 barrels per day to national output.
“These are not just transfers of assets, they are transfers of confidence, capability, and ownership”, he said.
