Daily petrol imports rise 96.6% to 5.9m litres  — NMDPRA

By Obas Esiedesa

Importation of premium motor spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, by oil marketers rose by 96.6 per cent in March 2026 to 5.9 million litres per day, up from 3.0 million litres   in February, according to the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).

However, the Authority, in its monthly fact sheet titled State of the Midstream and Downstream Sector for March 2026 released yesterday, said petrol supply from domestic refineries declined by 2.3 million litres per day, or 6.3 per cent, to 34.2 million litres, from to 36.5 million litres supplied in February.

This brought total petrol supply for the month to 40.1 million litres per day, representing a marginal drop of 1.5 per cent from the 40.5 million litres per day recorded in February.

However, on a year-on-year basis, daily petrol imports dropped significantly by 79.4 per cent to 5.9 million litres in March 2026, compared to 28.7 million litres per day in March 2025.

The report showed that the Dangote Refinery remained the sole domestic supplier of petrol during the period, while the three Federal Government-owned refineries managed by NNPC Limited remained shut down.

The data also revealed a notable decline in petrol consumption, which dropped from 56.9 million litres per day in February to 47.3 million litres per day in March, suggesting weaker demand due to the high pricing of petroleum products during the period.

Recall that the Dangote refinery increased its petrol price at least five times to N1,275 per litre in March.

Similarly, petrol stock sufficiency fell sharply from 30.7 days to 21.2 days, indicating tighter inventory levels despite increased imports.

On automotive gas oil (diesel), the report disclosed that supply fell by 58.4 per cent to 10.3 million litres per day in March, from 24.8 million litres per day in February.

Imports accounted for 6.4 million litres, representing 62 per cent of total diesel supply, while local refineries contributed 3.9 million litres per day.

For liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), also known as cooking gas, total daily supply stood at 4.726 million metric tonnes, with 4.5 million metric tonnes supplied by local processing plants.

An analysis of the figures indicates that while imports nearly doubled within the month, domestic supply still accounted for the bulk of the market, reinforcing the increasing role of local refiners, particularly the Dangote refinery, as a stabilising force in Nigeria’s downstream sector.

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