Nigeria’s petrol imports have continued at high volumes despite the operational start of the Dangote Refinery and the ongoing rehabilitation of state-owned refineries.
Data from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) indicates that total petrol imports for 2024 stood at approximately 13.76 billion litres.
Despite expectations that domestic refining capacity would reduce petrol imports, official figures show continued fluctuations in monthly import volumes.
January 2024 recorded an import volume of 1.35 billion litres, which slightly decreased to 1.34 billion litres in February.
The trend reversed in March with imports rising to 1.46 billion litres. Subsequent months witnessed further variations with a peak in October at 1.52 billion litres and a notable dip in November at 1.25 billion litres before increasing to 1.48 billion litres in December.
In contrast to import figures, domestic refinery output remains relatively low. Between January and May 2024, local refineries produced only 794.3 million litres of petrol, significantly lower than the country’s fuel consumption needs.
May recorded the highest production at 286 million litres, while January saw the lowest at 90 million litres, underscoring the challenges of ramping up local refining operations.
The Dangote Refinery, with a 650,000 barrels-per-day (bpd) capacity, was expected to significantly reduce Nigeria’s dependence on imported fuel. However, its impact has been hampered by ongoing market challenges and the continued inflow of imported petrol.
On October 29, 2024, Aliko Dangote, president of Dangote Group, raised concerns over the refinery’s operational setbacks, stating that the facility was holding over 500 million litres of fuel in storage while the market remained flooded with imported products.
Dangote also accused the market of being dominated by illicit, low-quality imports, which, he claimed, were undercutting the refinery’s pricing.
The company threatened legal action against the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) over its continued involvement in fuel imports.
The NNPC Limited has denied reports suggesting it recently imported 200 million litres of petrol. According to Olufemi Soneye, NNPC’s corporate communications officer, the company has not imported a single litre of petrol in 2025.
NNPC clarified that it does not control private sector importation and does not regulate market dynamics for independent marketers.
The company stated that while it has not engaged in fuel imports this year, there is no legal restriction preventing it from doing so if necessary.
Apart from the Dangote Refinery, Nigeria has other refining assets, including the 60,000 bpd Port Harcourt Refinery, 125,000 bpd Warri Refinery, 110,000 bpd Kaduna Refinery, 10,000 bpd OPAC Refinery in Delta State, 5,000 bpd WalterSmith Refinery in Imo State, 2,500 bpd Duport Midstream Refinery in Edo State, 1,500 bpd Edo Refinery, and 11,000 bpd Aradel Refinery in Rivers State. While these refineries are operational, their combined output remains insufficient to eliminate the need for imports.
Nigeria’s fuel import bill continues to strain foreign reserves and subsequently disrupt currency stability.
On Tuesday, February 18, 2025, the naira depreciated further to ₦1,545/$ in the parallel market and ₦1,512/$ in the official forex market, partly due to forex demands for fuel importation.
Experts argue that for Nigeria to achieve energy self-sufficiency, key issues must be addressed, including full operationalization of local refineries, regulatory clarity on fuel imports, strengthening market competition between NNPC and private refineries and eliminating the influx of substandard imported fuel.
While the Dangote Refinery and other local refineries have made significant progress, Nigeria’s continued reliance on fuel imports underscores lingering structural challenges in the downstream petroleum sector.
Until local refining fully meets domestic demand, petrol imports will remain a key factor in Nigeria’s energy and economic landscape.
