By Abiola Olawale
New data from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has revealed that Nigeria imported approximately 15.01 billion litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), or petrol, between August 2024 and early October 2025.
This import volume, representing nearly 69% of the nation’s total petrol supply during the 15 months, underscores Nigeria’s lingering dependence on foreign fuel, even as the 650,000-barrels-per-day Dangote Refinery ramps up local production.
The NMDPRA data, titled “Import vs Domestic Supply Performance,” revealed that Nigeria recorded a total supply of 21.68 billion litres for the period in review
Meanwhile, domestic supply accounted for 6.67 billion litres, or 31% of the total supply.
According to the breakdown, imported petrol averaged 44.60 million litres per day in August 2024 and rose to 54.30 million litres per day in September 2024, marking the peak of import dependence during the period. This was a time when the Dangote refinery began PMS supply to the local market.
It was noted that imports began to decline steadily, falling to 24.15 million litres per day by January 2025, 19.26 million litres per day in September 2025, and 15.11 million litres per day within the first 10 days of October 2025.
The decline in petrol imports showed that the Dangote refinery is gradually taking a significant share of the market, but this comes with stiff competition from petrol importers, who repeatedly accused Aliko Dangote of stifling competitors with consistent price reductions.
As domestic refining grew consistently through the period, local production, which stood at 6.43 million litres per day in September 2024, increased to 22.66 million litres per day in January 2025 before stabilising around 20 million litres per day in subsequent months. By October 2025, the Dangote refinery was producing an average of 18.93 million litres per day, exceeding imports for that month.
