Nigerians consume 47.3m litres of fuel as importation hits 5.9m litres

Importation of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, supplied to the Nigerian market increased by almost 100 percent to 5.9 million litres per day in the month of March. According to a factsheet released by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), the figure was 2.9 million litres higher when compared […]

Importation of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, supplied to the Nigerian market increased by almost 100 percent to 5.9 million litres per day in the month of March.

According to a factsheet released by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), the figure was 2.9 million litres higher when compared to the 3 million litres imported into the country in the month of February.

The factsheet however said the Dangote Refinery supplied 34.2 million litres to the market per day, a 2.3 million litres drop from the 36.5 million litres per day the company supplied to the market.

While it said the refinery produced an average of  48.2 million litres per day, it stated that in total, 40.1 litres of PMS was supplied to the domestic market during the month, an increase of 600 litres per day.

It would be recalled that the NMDPRA had stated that it did not issue import licenses to major marketers to bring petrol into the country in 2026.

This followed a significant drop of importation from 24.8 million litres in January to 3 million in February.

The President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote had consistently opposed continued fuel importation, stating that fuel importation will sabotage local production in the country.

But despite NMDPRA’s claim that it has stopped import licenses, Dangote had during an interview said it is false as six major marketers were still importing the product.

But the authority said those still importing are yet to fully utilise the licences given to them in 2025.

Meanwhile, the factsheet stated that average daily consumption of PMS during the month dropped to 47.3 million from 56.9 million litres per day in February.

It added that all refineries by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited are shut down but the Port Harcourt Refinery still evacuates diesel produced with an average of 48,000 litres/day.

It added that the average price of PMS was highest in Enugu State with N1,270 per litre, followed by, N1,238.50 per litre in Maiduguri, N1,226.50 per litre in Sokoto,1N1,202 in Abuja and Calabar, N1,195.50 in Kano, N1,192 in Ibadan and 1,140.50.