By Ayomide Otitoju
Nigeria’s oil and gas sector revenue soared by 70.49 per cent in February 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, despite a slight dip in crude oil production, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) latest economic report.
The CBN disclosed that the Federal Government earned ₦813.22 billion from petroleum in February 2025, up from ₦477 billion recorded in February 2024. The February earnings also marked a 33.57 per cent increase over the ₦608.85 billion generated in January 2025.
The surge in revenue comes amid a 4.55 per cent decline in daily crude oil output, which fell to 1.47 million barrels per day. The CBN attributed the drop to ongoing maintenance activities on the Trans-Niger Pipeline and reduced output from key terminals.
Global crude prices also trended downward in February, driven by heightened expectations of a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine, and a wave of global refinery maintenance activities. Nigeria’s reference grade, Bonny Light, saw its average spot price fall by 4.56 per cent to $77.08 per barrel, down from $80.76 in January.
The apex bank reported that total federally collected revenue for February stood at ₦2.732 trillion. Oil revenue accounted for ₦813.22 billion (30 per cent), while non-oil revenue contributed ₦1.9 trillion (70 per cent).
A breakdown of oil revenue revealed that earnings from crude oil and gas exports amounted to ₦51.33 billion, representing 6.3 per cent of total oil revenue. This figure reflected a 23.75 per cent increase from ₦15.38 billion in January 2025 but marked a 54.37 per cent decline compared to ₦112.48 billion in February 2024.
Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT) contributed ₦67.49 billion, or 8.3 per cent of total oil earnings. However, this was a 39.55 per cent drop from ₦111.64 billion in January 2025 and a 22.46 per cent decline from ₦87.04 billion in February 2024.
Royalties remained the largest revenue component, contributing ₦519.57 billion or 63.9 per cent of oil earnings. This marked a 53.71 per cent rise from ₦338.01 billion in January and a 101.87 per cent increase over the ₦257.38 billion recorded in February 2024.
The country recorded no income from domestic crude oil and gas sales during the month, but earnings from other oil-related sources surged to ₦174.83 billion—up 21.56 per cent from ₦143.82 billion in January and 769.8 per cent higher than the ₦20.1 billion posted in February 2024.
According to Saudi media reports, Minister of Hajj and Umrah, Tawfiq al-Rabiah, advised pilgrims to stay indoors between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. local time as temperatures are forecast to exceed 40 degrees Celsius.
The Day of Arafat, traditionally regarded as the spiritual climax of the hajj, involves hours of prayer and Quranic recitation on Mount Arafat, a 70-metre-high hill on the outskirts of Mecca. However, the site offers minimal shade, leaving pilgrims vulnerable to intense desert heat.
In a separate advisory, the Saudi Ministry of Health warned pilgrims against climbing mountainous or elevated areas, citing risks of heat exhaustion from extreme physical exertion.
“We warn against climbing mountains or high places on the Day of Arafat, as it causes extreme physical exertion and increases the risk of heat exhaustion,” the ministry stated.
In anticipation of the harsh weather, Saudi authorities have significantly expanded heat mitigation efforts to avoid a repeat of last year’s deadly hajj, during which 1,301 pilgrims died as temperatures soared to a record 51.8 degrees Celsius (125.2°F).
More than 40 government agencies and 250,000 personnel have been mobilised this year to enhance safety, the Hajj Minister told AFP. Mitigation measures include an additional 50,000 square metres of shaded areas, thousands of medical personnel on standby, and the deployment of over 400 cooling units.
As of Sunday, more than 1.4 million pilgrims from around the world had arrived in the kingdom to partake in the religious rites, which officially begin Wednesday.
