Nigeria is losing ground in the United States crude oil market as Washington deepens its engagement with Venezuela’s oil sector following the dramatic arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and a sweeping shift in US sanctions policy.
Fresh US crude import data for the first quarter of 2026 show a decline in Nigerian crude purchases compared with the same period of 2025, while imports from Venezuela have surged amid renewed American interest in the Latin American country’s vast oil reserves.
Data obtained from the US import records
