NMDPRA: Nigeria saves over N6trn in nine months as fuel imports plunge

Nigeria has recorded savings of over N6 trillion in the first nine months of 2025 due to a significant reduction in petroleum product imports, according to the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).

Saidu Mohammed, the agency’s Chief Executive Officer, made this disclosure on Wednesday while speaking at the 2026 Nigerian International Energy Summit (NIES) in Abuja.

He attributed this milestone to the full deregulation of the downstream sector and the successful implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.

Mohammed described the current state of the sector as an “early but irreversible renaissance,” noting that the reforms championed by President Bola Tinubu, including foreign exchange harmonization and the “Naira-for-Crude” trading policy, have fundamentally reshaped the market.

Advertisement

“For decades, the downstream value chain was plagued by infrastructure deficits, weak market structures, supply inefficiencies, low investment, and poor safety and environmental standards.

“However, the implementation of the PIA has transformed the sector into a fully liberalised market, eliminating persistent petrol scarcity and supply uncertainty,” Mohammed said.

He emphasized that supply stability has become the new norm, with pricing now increasingly driven by market fundamentals rather than government intervention.

A key driver of this success has been the surge in domestic refining capacity, spearheaded by the Dangote Petroleum Refinery.

Advertisement

Mohammed highlighted the facility’s role in reducing dependence on foreign fuel, stating that it is already meeting a significant portion, and in some cases, 100% of domestic demand for certain products.

“The optimal operationalisation and future upscaling of the Dangote Refinery are essential to achieving Nigeria’s aspiration of becoming a regional and continental energy hub,” he noted.

Looking ahead, the NMDPRA boss projected that Nigeria’s total refining capacity would exceed one million barrels per day in the medium term.

This growth is expected to come from the completion of licensed private refineries and the ongoing rehabilitation of state-owned plants managed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited.

Mohammed concluded by stressing that market confidence remains the “true currency of reform,” assuring investors that the regulatory environment would remain transparent, fair, and rule-based to sustain the sector’s growth.