Nigeria’s petrol imports have persisted with no significant decline despite reported rising domestic refining capacity.
Nigeria, Africa’s largest crude oil producer and home to one of the biggest private refineries in the world, imported N3.3 trillion worth of Motor Spirit, Ordinary (Petrol) in the last three months of 2024.
Data sourced from the latest report by the country’s bureau of statistics (NBS) revealed that petrol topped Nigeria’s most traded commodities imported during the quarter. This is despite a 0.495 percent decline.
Energy analysts say that Nigeria is severely impacted by the high cost of imported fuel, which puts a drain on the country’s resources and exacerbates its economic problems.
It was anticipated that the recent start of operations at the Dangote Refinery and the restoration of state-owned refineries would lessen the nation’s dependency on imported petrol. However fuel imports have continued unchecked, raising worries about a sustained reliance on foreign fuel sources.
“By allowing fuel imports, we export jobs and economic value to foreign countries. This is not in the best interest of Nigeria,” said, a senior industry executive.
Despite rising local refinery production, data from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) shows changes in supply volumes and daily averages, indicating a substantial reliance on imports.
Although statistics reveal significant fluctuations throughout the year, fuel imports have been essential in supplying Nigeria’s fuel needs. The volume of imports in January 2024 was 1,357,044,721 litres, and in February it dropped slightly to 1,343,509,376 litres.
In March, imports surged to 1,461,889,416 litres, reversing the trend and indicating a greater reliance on outside sources. Further swings were observed in the following months, as imports fell to 1,288,974,567 litres in April before progressively rising to 1,313,440,530 litres in May and 1,398,411,753 litres in June.
With a peak in October of 1,524,565,174 litres and a large decline in November of 1,253,477,626 litres with a minor recovery to 1,482,726,064 litres in December, the second half of the year saw further remarkable fluctuations.
Despite efforts to increase local refinery production, Nigeria’s reliance on foreign petrol supplies has been strengthened by the country’s 13.76 billion litres of petrol imports during the course of the year.
The dependence on imported petroleum was further highlighted by the fact that local refinery production remained relatively low as compared to import levels. Only 794,369,526 litres of fuel were produced by local refineries between January and May 2024, which is a much less amount than the amount imported.
January had the lowest production throughout this time, at 90,498,122 litres, while May had the greatest, at 286,074,494 litres. The entire amount of petrol produced throughout the year, including both imports and domestic refinery production, was 14,553,681,578 litres, according to NMDPRA data.
With substantial peaks in some months, especially October and December, the supply trended similarly to import trends. Additionally variable was the daily average petrol supply, which ranged from 42.3 million litres in May to a peak of 56 million litres in October. The overall daily average supply for the year stood at 43,775,636 liters, reinforcing the need for stable supply mechanisms to meet national fuel consumption needs.