Petrol Import Jumps 59.5% In May As Demand Drops To 46.3m Litres Daily—NMDPRA

Petrol import volumes rose sharply in May even as domestic demand fell to 46.3 million litres per day (ML/D), the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has said.

The regulator said in its May 2026 Factsheet that daily petrol (PMS) imports climbed 59.5 per cent month‑on‑month to 5.9 ML/D, while trucked‑out consumption fell by 9.4 per cent to 46.3 ML/D from 51.1 ML/D in April.

According to the report, total daily petrol supply rose to 47.4 ML/D in May from 44.4 ML/D in April, but remained below the national benchmark demand of 50 ML/D.

The NMDPRA said the country’s national petrol stock sufficiency declined to 16 days in May from 17.7 days in April, noting that reserves dipped to a low of 13.75 days mid‑month before recovering to about 19 days by month‑end.

The regulator attributed higher domestic supply partly to the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals, which it said operated at 101.25 per cent capacity utilisation in May. The authority said Dangote produced 44.7 ML/D of petrol in the month and supplied 41.5 ML/D to the domestic market, while also exporting other refined products.

In contrast, the NMDPRA said Nigeria’s three state‑owned refineries — Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna — remained shut throughout May. It said three modular refineries (WalterSmith, Edo and Aradel) produced a combined 0.648 ML/D, with WalterSmith at 65.31 per cent utilisation, Aradel at 62.94 percent and Edo at 91.66 percent. The NMDPRA said OPAC and Duport modular refineries were on shutdown.

The authority said diesel imports fell to zero in May as Dangote ramped up diesel output to 18.8 ML/D, up from 8.5 ML/D in April. It said total diesel supply rose to 18.8 ML/D and national diesel stock sufficiency stood at 31 days.

On aviation fuel, the NMDPRA said supply rose to 3.6 ML/D in May and consumption to 3.1 ML/D, slightly above the country’s benchmark demand of 3 ML/D. It said aviation fuel stocks were sufficient for 94 days.

The regulator reported that liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) supply fell to 4.1 kilotonnes per day (KT/D) from 4.5 KT/D in April, while consumption eased to 4.5 KT/D, leaving a daily supply shortfall. It said most LPG came from processing plants and vessel deliveries, with a small import component.

The authority said national LPG stock sufficiency was 11 days and retail prices ranged between N1,150 and N1,800 per kilogram.

The NMDPRA said total domestic gas supply dipped 3.1 per cent to 4.984 billion standard cubic feet per day (Bscf/d) in May, of which 2.851 Bscf/d went to the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) plant and 2.133 Bscf/d to the domestic market.

It provided sectoral allocations and said several gas processing plants ran near or above design capacity while others underperformed.

On infrastructure, the regulator reported progress on major pipeline projects, with the AKK Gas Pipeline at 94.3 per cent completion, the OB3 River Niger Crossing at 96 percent and the ELPS Midline Compressor Project at 94.88 per cent. It said the Odidi–Warri Expansion Project was 72.81 percent complete and the Escravos–Odidi Pipeline was at 20.20 per cent.

The NMDPRA described the May figures as evidence of a “strategic transformation in the energy sector, emphasising reduced imports, strengthened domestic production, job creation, safety improvements, and economic stability,” the fact sheet said