Friday, January 16, 2026 - Nigeria imported approximately 1.31 billion litres of petrol in December 2025, according to data released by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority.
During the same period, the Dangote refinery reportedly
supplied 992 million litres, showing a notable contribution from domestic
refining compared to November. In December, total petrol supply was 74.2
million litres per day: imports took 42.2 million litres per day, while Dangote
supplied 32 million litres per day.
The figures represent a stark contrast to November, when
petrol imports were 1.57 billion litres, and Dangote supplied just 585 million
litres. The average daily supply in November was 71.5 million litres per day;
52.1 million litres were imported, while 19.5 million litres were sourced from
the Dangote refinery, the only petrol-producing plant in Nigeria as of the time
of this report.
It was observed that the jump in petrol supply from 2.15
billion litres in November to 2.3 billion litres in December reflects seasonal
demand pressures during the Yuletide.
It was observed that while local refining is growing, some
marketers still have a passion for imported petrol.
According to a report released for November, the NMDPRA
justified fuel import licences, stating that there was a shortage in September
and October. Data from the authority showed that NNPC and other marketers
imported 1.5 billion litres of petrol in November alone.
The November import figure of 52.1 million litres per day
was the highest since the Dangote refinery started petrol production in
September 2024.
The NMDPRA explained that low supply in September and
October 2025, below national demand, necessitated increased imports. It said
that in September, Dangote supplied 17.6 million litres per day, while imports
stood at 22.1 million litres per day.
Reacting, the President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote,
accused the former NMDPRA Chief Executive, Farouk Ahmed, of granting what he
called “reckless licences” for fuel importation while his tanks were full,
accusing Ahmed of sabotaging the economy.
“As we speak now, even our tanks are full because the NMDPRA
has issued reckless licences. And we have to now go and complain to the
government,” Dangote said.
“They are now ready to issue licences for about 7.5 billion
litres for the first quarter of 2026, despite the fact that we have guaranteed
to supply enough quantity,” he added.
In response, Dangote disrupted the market by crashing the
pump price of petrol from around N900 to N739/litre, though at a heavy loss to
both refiners and importers.
On Wednesday, the Managing Director of the Dangote refinery,
David Bird, disclosed that the Dangote refinery has commenced night-time
loading operations as it intensifies efforts to sustain a daily supply of more
than 50 million litres of petrol across Nigeria, signalling a major shift to
full 24-hour operations at Africa’s largest refinery.
Speaking during a press briefing at the refinery, Bird said
the transition to round-the-clock loading had become necessary to meet market
demand and improve turnaround time for product evacuation.
According to him, the refinery is now meeting the 50 million
litres daily petrol requirement in both production and evacuation.
“What I’m incredibly proud of is that, in the second half of
2025, while we were still ramping up capacity of our conversion units and
downstream units, we were still able to deliver 50 million litres a day, more
frankly than 52 million litres on some occasions,” Bird said.
He added, “We’re already doing nighttime loading. So it’s a
24-hour operation. We have celebrated over 50 million litres of offtake as
well, which means over a thousand trucks progressing through the gate and
through the gantry.”
Meanwhile, The PUNCH observes that the landing cost of
imported PMS has remained stuck at rates above the Dangote refinery’s ex-depot
price of N699 per litre.
According to reports by the Major Energies Marketers
Association of Nigeria, while the Dangote refinery’s ex-depot price has
remained at N699 since December, the landing cost has been fluctuating between
N780 and N750, intensifying the price war for importers.
In its bulletin on Wednesday, MEMAN disclosed that the
landing cost dropped to N754.96 from N758 last week. The association noted that
Dangote’s gantry price was still N699 per litre, representing a difference of
about N44.
As a result, many importers are finding it difficult to sell
petrol at competitive prices compared with the Dangote-backed MRS filling
stations.
When Aliko Dangote slashed the petrol gantry price by N129
in December, he said the move was to ensure Nigerians bought petrol at prices
not above N740 during the Yuletide. He added that it was also intended to
discourage importation.
0 Comments