Refined & Expanded Content: “US Oil Exports Drop as Nigeria’s Crude Production Surges in July 2025”
A New Dynamics in Global Oil Supply and Nigeria’s Production Boom
In a striking shift in global oil flows, the United States’ crude oil exports to Nigeria and other African countries fell for the fifth consecutive month, averaging just 3.3 million barrels per day (bpd) in July 2025. According to the OPEC Monthly Oil Market Report (MOMR) for August, this marks the lowest export level since March 2022, mainly due to weakened supplies heading to both Europe and Africa, with Nigeria feeling the brunt of the cutbacks.
What’s behind this notable decline? One significant factor is the operational ramp-up of local refining capacity, particularly the 650,000 bpd Dangote Refinery. As domestic refining becomes more viable, importers—including those sourcing US crude—have started reducing external purchases in favour of locally refined alternatives.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s crude oil output (excluding condensate) rose sharply. OPEC reports that average production climbed 11% year-on-year to 1.559 million bpd in July 2025, the highest figure this year.
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) paints an even more compelling picture—production peaked above 1.8 million bpd last month, with an average hovering at 1.78 million bpd.
This impressive uptick comes as a result of multiple reforms led by NUPRC CEO Gbenga Komolafe. The “Project 1 MMBOPD Incremental” initiative has been rolled out through strong multi-stakeholder collaboration, improved security measures to curb oil theft, deployment of the Maximum Efficient Rate (MER) framework, enhanced produced water management, and better planning around maintenance shutdowns—crucial for minimising production interruptions.
