A thorough examination of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) factsheet indicates that between August 2024 and October 2025, Nigeria imported ₦12.8 trillion worth of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly referred to as gasoline or fuel.
The agency’s record of 15,435,000,000 liters imported into the country over the course of 15 months was used to compute the import value, with an average landing cost of ₦829.77 per litre.
According to the breakdown, September 2024 had the largest volume of petrol imports—1.52 billion liters—during a period when there was no local production. 1.38 billion liters in August 2024 and 1.31 billion liters in December 2024 came next.
Import quantities were 1.17 billion liters in October 2025; in November, they slightly decreased to 1.12 billion liters. In January 2025, the number dropped precipitously to 765.7 million liters; in February and March, it slightly increased to 770 million liters and 889.7 million liters, respectively.
A total of 861 million liters were imported in April, 1.19 billion liters in May, 978 million liters in June, 1.11 billion liters in July, and then 818.4 million liters in August, 663 million liters in September, and 855.6 million liters in October 2025.
Dangote Provides All 7.2 Billion Liters of PMS in the Area
The Dangote Refinery was the only source of the 7,208,280,000 liters of local supplies throughout that time.
In August 2024, there was no local supply; however, production started up again in September 2024 at 102 million liters, then increased to 300.7 million liters in October and 558 million liters in November.
After declining to 306.9 million liters in December 2024, production increased to 592.1 million liters in January 2025, 694.4 million liters in February, and 709.9 million liters in March.
645 million liters were reported in April, 573.5 million liters in May, 543 million liters in June, and 511.5 million liters in July. August saw an increase in supply to 613.8 million liters, September saw a decline to 528 million liters, and October 2025 saw a final total of 529.48 million liters.
Nigeria is still largely dependent on imported PMS, according to the factsheet, despite growing pressure to stop imports and switch to domestic refining.
Through a presidential decree to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and NMDPRA, the federal government formerly levied a 15% ad valorem duty on imported PMS and diesel.
Nigeria had not yet attained self-sufficiency, according to stakeholders, who fiercely opposed the program. Later thereafter, the government overturned the order.
Industry participants cautioned that prohibiting PMS imports might give Dangote a monopoly, which they claimed would jeopardize energy security.
Concerned About Vessel Clearance Delays, Dangote
The Dangote Refinery has expressed dissatisfaction with vessel clearance delays, claiming that these bottlenecks are interfering with business operations and negatively impacting customers.
David Bird, the CEO of the refinery, said that the delays were causing “unnecessary costs and inefficiencies” in a letter to the NMDPRA CEO.
“We continue to experience delays in vessel clearance, which impact not only the refinery operations but also our customers, adding unnecessary costs and inefficiencies,” he wrote.
According to Bird, the refinery is still well-positioned to satisfy Nigeria’s PMS requirements.
“Dangote refinery is ready and able to supply 1.5 billion liters of PMS per month (50 million liters per day) in December and January, followed by 1.7 billion liters per month (57 million liters per day) from February 2026 onwards,” he stated.
He asked the Authority to let the refinery import feedstocks and crude “unhindered” and to make it easier for ships to lift the products.
“Please allow the ‘Nigeria First’ policy to work to the benefits of all Nigerians,” Bird continued.
Additionally, he requested that the regulator send representatives to the refinery starting on December 1 in order to verify and disseminate the refinery’s daily supply amounts. He promised complete openness by publishing production and stock data on a daily basis.
Why Fuel Imports Are Still Required in Nigeria According to Henry Adigun, Director of the Institute for Energy and Extractive Industry Law, Nigeria is unable to halt PMS imports at this time due to insufficient diversification of its domestic refining capability.
In order to fill supply gaps, he clarified that Section 317(9) of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) gives the regulator the authority to provide import licenses to businesses that have valid local refining licenses or a track record of successful international crude and product trading.
According to Adigun, when the Dangote refinery’s costs are more affordable, present fuel importers will inevitably purchase from it.
However, he issued a warning, stating that the refinery cannot keep lowering PMS pricing until favorable conditions in the global market are present.
He claimed that Dangote’s recent price reduction, which dropped ex-depot gasoline from ₦880 to ₦865 per litre, was motivated by declining crude prices worldwide and anticipation of a possible oil-for-naira deal.
According to petroleum economist Prof. Wumi Iledare, Nigeria’s downstream operations have changed as a result of the Dangote Refinery’s domestic petroleum supply, which has reduced imports, improved stability, and tested PIA 2021 regulations.
He stated that while there are still issues like unreliable petroleum supply, infrastructural constraints, regulatory overreach, and market concentration, the advantages include foreign exchange savings and inflation moderation.
“Priority actions include operationalizing transparent supply arrangements, enforcing PIA provisions, de-bottlenecking logistics, overseeing competition, and ensuring data transparency through public dashboards,” he stated.
According to him, Nigeria needs to keep an eye on logistical KPIs, import quantities, pricing trends, scarcity occurrences, and refinery output in order to maintain a stable downstream market.
