- Holds 7-8% global reserves
- Refines less than 4.0m bpd
- Spends $90–$120bn importing petroleum products
Nigeria and Africa’s crude oil business posts a relativity of poverty and income. The continent, with crude oil reserves estimated to be approximately 125 billion barrels (bbl) representing 7-8 percent of global total reserves, yet it’s oil market “sits at the intersection of scale and structural inefficiency”, according to a recent analysis.
Despite the huge proven reserves, the continent refines only between 3.5 million to 4.0 million barrels per day (bpd), capturing only a fraction of downstream value. Analysts posit that this is largely because the continent’s refining capacity has historically lagged production. At the same time, reports say the continent spends between $90 billion to $120 billion importing refined petroleum products to meet regional demands.
Nigeria has the second biggest proven crude oil reserves estimated at 37 billion barrels, after Libya’s 48–50 billion barrels, which is the continent’s topmost. Other top countries by proven crude oil reserves are Algeria, with 12.2 billion barrels, Angola 7.8 billion barrels, South Sudan 3.75 billion barrels, and Egypt with 3.3–4.4 billion barrels, according to data by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).
While Africa has massive reserves, production is often hindered by infrastructure issues and underinvestment. Effective utilisation of these reserves in many markets remains below 50 percent, creating one of the widest import dependency gaps globally, according to Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
This imbalance translates into a substantial revenue leakage, with the continent spending an estimated $60–90 billion annually on petroleum product imports, even as it exports crude oil worth hundreds of billions of dollars.
Indeed, Nigeria exhibits the continent’s biggest petroleum imbalance. Till date, it remains Africa’s country that spends the most on petroleum importation. As of 2024, the country’s expenditure on importing petroleum products reached a historic N15.42 trillion (approximately $11.5 billion), despite the commissioning of the Dangote Refinery. While spending was around $10―$15 billion annually at its peak, recent 2025 data showed a 29 percent drop to approximately N8.8 trillion―N9 trillion, due to increased local refining.
South Africa only overtook Nigeria as of mid-2025, to become the African country spending the most on importation of refined petroleum products. Driven by shutdown of several domestic refineries, and rising demand, the rainbow country was expected to import approximately 15.5 million tons of fuel in 2025.
On a global scale, so far, Nigeria spends the most on petroleum importation. Top import sources as of 2024 showed that Belgium spent $4.06 billion, Netherlands ($1.1 billion), UAE ($995 million), Norway ($951 million), and the UK ($837 million).
