The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has revealed that Nigeria’s three functional refineries supply less than 50% of the country’s petrol consumption despite improved refining capacity......CONTINUE READING THE ARTICLE FROM THE SOURCE>>>>>
The NMDPRA said the shortfall in petrol supply was being met by importing petroleum products.
FG still grants petrol import licences
The authority also said the country’s petrol consumption has fallen to 50 million litres daily.
The chief executive of NMDPRA, Farouk Ahmed, disclosed this at a press conference on Wednesday, February 19, 2025.
Ahmed noted that the agency has been granting import licences under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), stressing that without the imports, Nigerians would still have fuel shortages.
Two of Nigeria’s refineries in Port Harcourt and Warri commenced operations in 2024.
Dangote and two other refineries are not enough
In September 2024, the 650,000 bpd-capacity Dangote refinery began petrol production, raising hopes that Nigeria will end imports and save scarce forex.
Ahmed, represented by NMDPRA’s Executive Director, Distribution System, Storage, and Retailing Infrastructure, Ogbugo Ukoha, noted that Nigeria is heavily reliant on petrol imports with over 50% from overseas.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) debunked reports of importing 25 million litres of petrol in February, saying the company has not imported any in 2025.
Ukoha said Nigeria’s petrol consumption has dropped from 66 million litres per day to 50 million due to subsidy removal.
He disclosed that Nigeria did not experience any petrol scarcity during the Christmas holidays due to those imports.
Petrol consumption drops
“We have continued to do plus or minus 50 million litres a day. Of these 50 million litres averaging for each day, less than 50 per cent of that is contributed by domestic refineries,” he said.
The NMDPRA executive said none of the domestic refineries have imported petroleum products, confirming NNPC’s stance on imports.
The development comes amid allegations that NNPC fuel has a higher burn rate than Dangote petrol.
Ukoha said oil marketing companies are importing fuel, and not the companies that operate refineries.
NMDPRA debunks substandard fuel allegations
The regulator said all petroleum products imports have high-quality standards, a subtle remark concerning the viral video alleging substandard petrol by NNPC.
According to Ukoha, the NMDPA always insists that all petroleum products abide by the Standard Organisation of Nigeria’s specifications in line with the Petroleum Industry Act.
Puch reports that Ukoha stressed that the NMDPRA does not allow the distribution of products below standard quality.
Dangote refinery crashes diesel prices by N55
The Refinery said the move was to serve its customers and Nigerians better.
This is the third time the plant has reduced diesel prices since it started producing the commodity in January 2024 from N1,700 per litre to the current price.