Nigeria Resumes Petrol Importation to Bridge Refinery Supply Gaps
SAMUEL MOBOLAJI
Oil marketers have confirmed that the Federal Government has resumed issuing petrol and diesel import licences to close supply gaps in the downstream market, as local refineries remain unable to consistently meet Nigeria’s domestic demand.
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) approved the move as a stabilisation measure to prevent scarcity and price spikes.
Industry stakeholders explained that the decision is not a reversal of Nigeria’s refining policy but a gap-management strategy, particularly as the country’s largest refinery undergoes a major expansion.
The Dangote Petroleum Refinery is upgrading capacity from 650,000 barrels per day to 1.4 million barrels per day, a process expected to last three years. During this period, the refinery is blending semi-finished feedstocks into finished products, limiting its ability to fully supply the market.
Marketers stressed that Nigeria’s daily fuel consumption leaves no room for supply disruptions. Maintenance downtime, logistics bottlenecks, or crude supply constraints can quickly trigger shortages, making importation a necessary buffer.
“If they don’t complement this with further importation, Nigeria will run out of stock and that will bring scarcity. This import licensing is timely and strategic,” one downstream stakeholder said.
The economic implications are significant. Continued reliance on imports places pressure on foreign exchange reserves, contributes to naira depreciation, and fuels inflation. Coastal logistics associated with imports can add about ₦75 per litre to fuel costs, potentially pushing pump prices toward ₦1,000 per litre if passed on to consumers.
Dangote Refinery has rejected claims that it imports finished petrol or diesel, insisting it only brings in unfinished feedstocks for local processing. Management says it currently supplies over 50 million litres of petrol daily to the Nigerian market and warns that excessive reliance on coastal logistics could undermine recent gains from domestic refining.
The resumption of importation underscores Nigeria’s transitional energy reality: while large-scale refineries are moving toward self-sufficiency, short-term reliance on imports remains unavoidable to ensure supply reliability and protect consumers from scarcity-driven shocks.
