Nigeria’s dependence on imported petrol showed further signs of rebounding in July as supplies from domestic refineries dropped sharply, forcing a bigger contribution from foreign imports despite the country’s expanding refining capacity.
Latest statistics on Nigeria’s midstream and downstream petroleum operations for July 2026, published on its official X handle on Monday, showed that domestic petrol supply fell by 21 per cent within one month, while petrol imports rose by nine per cent.
The development points to the continuing challenge facing Africa’s largest oil producer as it seeks to replace decades of dependence on imported petroleum products with output from local refineries.
The factsheet showed that total Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, receipts declined from 50.6 million litres per day in June to 45.5 million litres per day in July, representing a 10 per cent drop.
However, the composition of the supply changed significantly. Domestic refineries supplied 32.5 million litres of petrol daily in June, but this fell to 25.8 million litres per day in July.
At the same time, imported petrol receipts increased from 18.1 million litres daily to 19.7 million litres daily.
The report read, “Total PMS daily receipts fell by 10 per cent from 50.6 million litres per day in June to 45.5 million litres per day in July. The decline was driven by a 21 per cent drop in domestic supplies, which fell from 32.5 million litres per day to 25.8 million litres per day, even as petrol imports rose by nine per cent from 18.1 million litres per day to 19.7 million litres per day.”
The figures mean that while locally refined petrol remained the larger source of supply, imports accounted for an increasing share of the market in July as domestic production weakened.
The July figures extended a reversal that began in June, when petrol imports surged by 207 per cent to 18.1 million litres per day as domestic supply dropped by 22 per cent to 32.5 million litres. A month later, domestic supply fell further to 25.8 million litres daily, while imports climbed to 19.7 million litres, showing that imported petrol was gaining ground as local refinery supplies weakened.
The shift came as crude oil receipts by domestic refineries declined from 632,000 barrels per day in June to 585,000 barrels per day in July, representing an eight per cent reduction.
The lower crude supply coincided with the 21 per cent decline in domestic petrol receipts, underscoring the link between refinery feedstock availability and Nigeria’s efforts to reduce reliance on imported fuel.
Nigeria, despite being one of Africa’s major crude oil producers, depended almost entirely on imported refined petroleum products for years due to the poor performance of its state-owned refineries.
However, the emergence and expansion of private refining capacity, led by the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, as well as efforts to rehabilitate government-owned plants, have begun to alter the country’s petroleum supply structure.
Data from the latest factsheet also showed that the Dangote refinery operated at an average capacity utilisation of more than 71 per cent during the period under review.
The refinery recorded average petrol production of about 25.9 million litres per day, closely matching the 25.8 million litres per day recorded as total domestic PMS receipts in July.
The figures highlight the growing importance of domestic refining to Nigeria’s petrol market, but also expose the vulnerability of the country’s supply system when local refinery output or crude intake declines.
With domestic supply falling, foreign products moved in to fill part of the gap. The resurgence was also recorded in the diesel market.
Automotive Gas Oil, popularly called diesel, receipts rose sharply from 16.2 million litres per day in June to 23.6 million litres per day in July, representing a 46 per cent increase.
But unlike June, when the entire recorded diesel supply came from domestic sources, imports returned in July.
Domestic diesel receipts slipped marginally from 16.2 million litres daily to 15.7 million litres daily, while imports accounted for 7.9 million litres daily.
This means that foreign diesel returned to the Nigerian market in July after no imported AGO was recorded in the previous month.
The pattern across petrol and diesel suggests that while domestic refining capacity has significantly increased Nigeria’s ability to meet its fuel needs locally, imports continue to serve as a balancing source whenever local supply falls short.
The data also showed that Nigeria’s petrol consumption dropped significantly during the month.
PMS consumption, based on volumes trucked out into the domestic market, fell from 47.4 million litres per day in June to 35.7 million litres per day in July, representing a 25 per cent decline.
The reduction in consumption came despite an increase in petrol stock sufficiency from 19.7 days to 22.4 days.
The higher stock cover suggests that available petrol inventories were sufficient to meet demand for a longer period, even as daily supply and consumption declined.
Diesel stock sufficiency also improved from 37.1 days in June to 46.5 days in July, representing a 25 per cent increase.
The country’s diesel consumption, however, fell from 16 million litres daily to 14.7 million litres daily.
A different trend was recorded in the Liquefied Petroleum Gas market, where total receipts increased from 5.1 kilotonnes per day to 5.3 kilotonnes per day.
Domestic LPG supply rose by 22 per cent, from 3.6 kilotonnes daily to 4.4 kilotonnes, while imports declined by 40 per cent from 1.5 kilotonnes to 0.9 kilotonnes per day.
LPG consumption also increased by seven per cent to 4.4 kilotonnes per day.
The figures indicate that domestic producers strengthened their position in the cooking gas market during July, unlike the petrol and diesel segments where imports gained ground following weaker local supply.
Domestic gas supply also declined during the month, falling from 5.116 billion cubic feet per day to 4.723 billion cubic feet per day, an eight per cent reduction. The figures include volumes supplied to the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited.
Aviation Turbine Kerosene receipts equally declined from 2.5 million litres per day to 1.9 million litres daily, while consumption dropped from 2.9 million litres to 1.7 million litres per day.
CIURTESY: Punch
