Domestic fuel supply drags petrol imports to eight-year low
The importation of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) into Nigeria is on track to hit its lowest volume in eight years.
This significant shift is driven by the operations of the 650,000-barrel-per-day Dangote Petroleum Refinery, the country’s recently established mega-refinery, which is reducing the need for imports and bolstering Nigeria’s fuel sufficiency.
A report by Bloomberg on Wednesday, citing data from analytics firm Vortexa Ltd, revealed that petrol imports from foreign suppliers are significantly decreasing, boosting fuel self-sufficiency and marking a key step toward greater energy independence.
An analysis revealed that the highest monthly import volume occurred in November 2022, with over 420,000 barrels imported. In 2024, the country recorded its highest import in May, with 300,000 barrels.
The report also stated that shipments into the country between January 1-24, 2025, stood at about 110,000 barrels a day, representing an import of 17.49 million litres.
If that rate continues for the rest of the month, the country’s imports — most of which come from Europe — will hit their lowest since 2017.
Other sources are from the Middle East, Russia, Asia, and North America.
Reacting, Vortexa analyst Samantha Hartke stated that the development has forced oil traders in Northwest Europe to find alternative destinations for its gasoline supplies.
She said, “A large part of the slowdown in Nigeria’s gasoline imports is due to the ramp-up of the Dangote refinery. Northwest Europe will have to find alternative homes for its gasoline supplies.”
It also stated that stockpiles of gasoline held in independent storage in Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp — a key exporting hub for barrels to Nigeria — have meanwhile hit a record high, according to figures from Insights Global.
Dangote is bigger than any other refinery in Europe or Africa and has been touted as a way for Nigeria — long reliant on imports of gasoline — to become less dependent on foreign supplies.
However, the refinery has faced its fair share of challenges, starting from the efforts to source crude oil, which have been complicated by low local crude supply from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited affecting its efforts to ramp up daily production.
The PUNCH reports that the Dangote Petroleum Refinery is importing more crude oil as supply from the NNPC becomes insufficient for fuel production at the $20bn Lekki-based facility.
The NNPC is reportedly struggling to supply 350,000bpd to the Dangote refinery from the 450,000bpd crude meant for Nigeria’s local consumption.
With its current production capacity of 500,000bpd, officials said there is a need to look beyond the shores of Nigeria for the feedstock.
It was said that the feedstock needed by the refinery daily cannot be solely supplied by the state-owned oil company, NNPC.
“About 12 million barrels of crude have departed the US and should arrive in Nigeria by February,” the Africa Report reported on Monday.
Recall that in July, President Tinubu ordered the NNPC to sell crude oil to local refineries in naira.
In October, the committee supervising the naira-for-crude deal commenced the sale of crude to only the Dangote refinery in naira, saying it would sell to only petrol-producing refineries.
However, with the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries coming on stream, more refineries would be considered for the naira-for-crude arrangement.
According to the crude oil production forecast of producing oil companies and the refining requirement of functional refineries in Nigeria signed by the Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, Gbenga Komolafe, the Dangote refinery would require 550,000 barrels of a blend of Nigerian crude oil daily, 17.05 million barrels monthly, and 99.55 million barrels between January and June 2025.
The Dangote refinery is already building eight more tanks to store imported crude. The facility is planning to stockpile imported crude oil as local supplies become unreliable.
