Nigeria Imports 1.3bn Litres of Petrol Despite Local Production
Nigeria imported approximately 1.31 billion litres of petrol in December 2025, according to data released by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).
During the same period, the Dangote refinery reportedly supplied 992 million litres, showing a notable contribution from domestic refining compared to November. In December, total petrol supply was 74.2 million litres per day: imports took 42.2 million litres per day, while Dangote supplied 32 million litres per day.
The figures represent a stark contrast to November, when petrol imports were 1.57 billion litres, and Dangote supplied just 585 million litres. The average daily supply in November was 71.5 million litres per day; 52.1 million litres were imported, while 19.5 million litres were sourced from the Dangote refinery, the only petrol-producing plant in Nigeria as of the time of this report.
It was observed that the jump in petrol supply from 2.15 billion litres in November to 2.3 billion litres in December reflects seasonal demand pressures during the Yuletide.
It was observed that while local refining is growing, some marketers still have a passion for imported petrol.
According to a report released for November, the NMDPRA justified fuel import licences, stating that there was a shortage in September and October. Data from the authority showed that NNPC and other marketers imported 1.5 billion litres of petrol in November alone.
The November import figure of 52.1 million litres per day was the highest since the Dangote refinery started petrol production in September 2024.
The NMDPRA explained that low supply in September and October 2025, below national demand, necessitated increased imports. It said that in September, Dangote supplied 17.6 million litres per day, while imports stood at 22.1 million litres per day.
Reacting, the President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, accused the former NMDPRA Chief Executive, Farouk Ahmed, of granting what he called “reckless licences” for fuel importation while his tanks were full, accusing Ahmed of sabotaging the economy.
“As we speak now, even our tanks are full because the NMDPRA has issued reckless licences. And we have to now go and complain to the government,” Dangote said.
“They are now ready to issue licences for about 7.5 billion litres for the first quarter of 2026, despite the fact that we have guaranteed to supply enough quantity,” he added.
In response, Dangote disrupted the market by crashing the pump price of petrol from around N900 to N739/litre, though at a heavy loss to both refiners and importers.
On Wednesday, the Managing Director of the Dangote refinery, David Bird, disclosed that the Dangote refinery has commenced night-time loading operations as it intensifies efforts to sustain a daily supply of more than 50 million litres of petrol across Nigeria, signalling a major shift to full 24-hour operations at Africa’s largest refinery.
Speaking during a press briefing at the refinery, Bird said the transition to round-the-clock loading had become necessary to meet market demand and improve turnaround time for product evacuation.
According to him, the refinery is now meeting the 50 million litres daily petrol requirement in both production and evacuation.
“What I’m incredibly proud of is that, in the second half of 2025, while we were still ramping up capacity of our conversion units and downstream units, we were still able to deliver 50 million litres a day, more frankly than 52 million litres on some occasions,” Bird said.
He added, “We’re already doing nighttime loading. So it’s a 24-hour operation. We have celebrated over 50 million litres of offtake as well, which means over a thousand trucks progressing through the gate and through the gantry.”
Meanwhile, Economic Confidential observes that the landing cost of imported PMS has remained stuck at rates above the Dangote refinery’s ex-depot price of N699 per litre.
According to reports by the Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria, while the Dangote refinery’s ex-depot price has remained at N699 since December, the landing cost has been fluctuating between N780 and N750, intensifying the price war for importers.
In its bulletin on Wednesday, MEMAN disclosed that the landing cost dropped to N754.96 from N758 last week. The association noted that Dangote’s gantry price was still N699 per litre, representing a difference of about N44.
As a result, many importers are finding it difficult to sell petrol at competitive prices compared with the Dangote-backed MRS filling stations.
When Aliko Dangote slashed the petrol gantry price by N129 in December, he said the move was to ensure Nigerians bought petrol at prices not above N740 during the Yuletide. He added that it was also intended to discourage importation.