By Abiola Olawale
Despite the operational status of the Dangote Refinery owned by Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, and the revitalized Port Harcourt Refinery, Nigeria continues to import a significant volume of petrol, the Federal government has revealed.
Speaking to journalists after a stakeholders meeting in Abuja, the Executive Director of Distribution Systems, Storage and Retailing Infrastructure, Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA, Mr. Ogbugo Ukoha, said Nigeria is still importing around 25 million litres daily.
This persists even though the Dangote Refinery, with a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, can produce up to 35 million litres of petrol daily when fully operational, and the Port Harcourt Refinery has resumed partial operations.
According to Ukoha, domestic refining currently meets less than 50% of the nation’s petrol demand, estimated at 50 million litres per day.
He asserted that petrol importation became necessary to ensure that scarcity does not return to the downstream sector.
He stated: “Let me speak a little bit about supply. All of us have experienced a yuletide free of any scarcity, and let me just reconfirm that from year to year, we saw an increase in the demand for PMS by 2021, 2022 up to 2023, just before the current administration came in. The daily PMS supply sufficiency was always more than 60 million, in fact averaging about 66 million a day for PMS. And following Mr. President’s withdrawal of subsidy, the announcement on May 29th, 2023, we immediately saw a steep decline in consumption and between then and as we speak, we’ve continued to do plus or minus 50 million.
“Of these 50 million litres averaging for each day, less than 50% of that is contributed by domestic refineries, and so the shortfall by the PIA (Petroleum Industry Act) is sourced by way of imports”.
Ukoha also disclosed that the Authority has banned 60,000 litres capacity tankers from transporting petrol and other petroleum products beginning March 1, 2025.
The ban was imposed by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA, despite protests from truck owners.
The National Association of Road Transport Owners, NARTO, had last week warned that the ban would cost them over N300 billion invested in procuring over 2,000 units of 60,000 litres capacity trucks currently involved in the transportation of petroleum products across the country.
Ukoha said tankers with 60,000 litres capacity were responsible for some of the recent spike in petrol tanker fires in the country.
He added: “The breaking news about that today is that in today’s meeting comprising DSS, FEMA, Federal Fire Service, Road Safety, NATO, NUPENG, MEMAN, PETROAN, IPMAN, DAPMAN, SON, ONSA, it was decided that beginning 1st March, any truck with an axle load that is carrying more than 60,000 litres of hydrocarbon will not be allowed to load at any loading depot.
“Let me repeat, beginning 1st March, trucks with a capacity over 60,000 litres will not be allowed to load in any loading depot for petroleum products. By Q4 of 2025, we will also preclude the loading or transportation of petroleum products on any truck over 45,000 litres. So that is the breaking news for today”.
