NMDPRA Suspends Petrol Imports As Dangote Refinery Boosts Supply

The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) suspended the issuance of new petrol import licences in February 2026, citing improved domestic production.

The regulator disclosed this in its February 2026 State of the Midstream and Downstream Fact Sheet.

According to the report, no new import licences were issued during the month, while the Dangote Refinery supplied an average of 36.5 million litres of petrol daily to the domestic market.

However, petrol imports averaging 3 million litres per day—the lowest level recorded in a year—were still supplied to the market.

Overall petrol supply in February stood at 39.6 million litres per day, representing a 25.4 million-litre drop compared with the 64.9 million litres daily average recorded in January.

“PMS supply in February 2026 reduced by 25.4 ML/D due to a significant drop in imports,” the NMDPRA said.

Commenting on the development, NMDPRA spokesperson George Ene-Ita said the Authority has not issued fresh import licences because local production currently meets domestic supply needs.

“At this moment, there is no need to import because local production is meeting supply. When there is a shortfall, we will issue licensing to buffer local production,” he said.

“What is happening is not strange. If you go by the dictates of the Petroleum Industry Act, it states that importation of PMS is meant to buffer domestic needs.

“If there is a shortfall, it opens the need for importation. If national production meets consumption, there is no need to import.”

In January 2025, the regulator—under its previous leadership—had defended issuing import licences, arguing that the Dangote refinery could not meet domestic demand at the time.

The NMDPRA also provided updates on refinery operations across the country.

The Port Harcourt Refinery remained shut in February, although diesel produced before the shutdown was evacuated at an average of 392,000 litres per day.

Similarly, the Kaduna Refinery stayed closed during the period, but about 27,000 litres of diesel per day were trucked to the domestic market.

The Warri Refinery also remained shut, with no evacuation activities recorded.

Meanwhile, three modular refineries — Waltersmith Refinery, Edo Refinery, and Aradel Refinery — supplied an average of 368,000 litres of diesel per day in February.

The regulator added that the introduction of hydrocarbons at Waltersmith refinery is still ongoing.

According to the NMDPRA, Nigeria’s petrol consumption benchmark is 50 million litres per day, while supply averaged 56.9 million litres daily during the period.

The Authority also reported an average daily domestic supply of 24.4 million litres of diesel and 4.77 billion standard cubic feet (scf) of natural gas.

Diesel consumption averaged 20.3 million litres per day, while aviation fuel consumption stood at 2.9 million litres daily.