Petrol Imports Rose To 52.1m Litres Per Day In November, Says Regulator

Petrol imports surged to 52.1 million litres per day in November, marking an increase despite a decline in domestic consumption, the industry regulator has reported.

Data from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) reveal that petrol imports rose to 52.1 million litres per day in November 2025, despite an overall decline in the country’s daily petrol consumption.

The latest Fact Sheet from the NMDPRA, posted on its X handle on Wednesday, showed that Nigeria’s average daily petrol consumption dropped to 52.9 million litres in November, down from 56.74 million litres in October 2025 and 56.0 million litres in November 2024.

While the quantity of petrol imported rose significantly from 27.6 million litres per day in October to 52.1 million litres per day in November, local refineries supplied 19.5 million litres daily, marking an increase over October’s 17.08 million litres.

This increase in local supply was mainly driven by the Dangote Refinery, which boosted its output from 18.03 million litres per day in October to 23.52 million litres in November.

Despite this growth, Dangote’s output remains below the 35 million litres daily target initially set by the regulator.

Conversely, the refineries operated by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) in Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna remained offline throughout the period due to ongoing rehabilitation and shutdowns.

According to the regulator, the surge in imports was triggered by low supply levels in September and October 2025, which fell short of national demand; the need to shore up national stock ahead of end-of-year peak consumption; NNPC’s importation efforts to rebuild inventory and ensure supply security; and the delayed offloading of 12 vessels initially scheduled for October but discharged in November.

“The need for boosting national stock levels to meet the peak demand period of end-of-year festivities, imports by the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), the supplier of last resort, in November 2025, to build inventory and further guarantee supply during the peak demand period,” it said.

In September last year, the federal government said the Dangote Refinery would supply Nigeria’s domestic market with 25 million litres of petrol daily and 35 million litres daily from October.

The data raise concerns about a recent move by the Nigerian government to place a tariff on petrol imports, despite the inability of local refineries to meet demand.

On 13 November, the Nigerian government said the implementation of a 15 per cent import duty on petrol and diesel, announced by President Bola Tinubu in October, was “no longer in view”.

The tariff was aimed at “strengthening local refining capacity, and ensuring a stable, affordable supply of petroleum products across Nigeria.”

The policy, however, was met with criticism from various stakeholders, energy experts, and civil society groups, who argued that it would lead to higher fuel prices and worsen the country’s economic situation.

Following the approval, the Dangote Refinery, the largest oil refiner in Nigeria, stated that there was no need for petrol imports, adding that it produces enough petrol and diesel for local consumption.

Meanwhile, the highest consumption within the one-year review period was in October 2025, followed by November 2024 (56 million litres) and April 2025 (55.2 million litres), the report noted.

Nigerians also consumed an average of 15.4 million litres per day of diesel in November, alongside 2.5 million litres per day of aviation fuel and 3,992 mt/day of cooking gas.

The regulator also highlighted the wide variation in petrol pump prices nationwide, with Lagos recording the lowest average price at N910 per litre and Maiduguri the highest at N982.50 per litre.

Pump prices in other cities stood at N945.50 in Abuja, N975 in Kano, N927 in Calabar, N971.50 in Sokoto, N923.50 in Ibadan, and N948 in Enugu.

The NMDPRA also said the supply of petrol increased to 71.5 million litres per day (ml/d) in November 2025 from the 46.0 ml/d recorded in October 2025 because of imports by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to build inventory and guarantee supply for the Yuletide season.

The Fact Sheet, which described the NNPC as the supplier of last resort, added that the 12-month vessels billed to discharge in the previous month could only be offloaded in November, further swelling stock levels.

Stating the reasons for high petrol stock in the period under review, the NMDPRA said: “The significant increase in PMS supply in November 2025 was on account of the following: Lower supply recorded in September and October, below the national demand threshold; the need for boosting the national stock level to meet the peak demand period of end-of-year festivities; Imports by the NNPC, the supplier of last resort, in November 2025, to build inventory and further guarantee supply during the peak demand period;  twelve-month vessels programmed to discharge into October but spilled into November 2025.

“Domestic supply volumes are based on disport/discharge figures and refinery truck-out,” it added.

The Fact Sheet also revealed that the average daily consumption of petrol in the country has dropped by 3.8 million litres per day (ml/d) to 52.9 ml/d in November 2025, from the average daily consumption of 56.7 ml/d in October 2025.

In the period under review, petrol stock sufficiency rose to 16.65 days from the 11.1 days recorded in October 2025.

According to the Fact Sheet, out of the six modular refineries listed in the period under review, two were out of production.

On modular refineries and capacities, the NMDPRA said OPAC and Duport “are not in production”.

It further explained that Waltersmith’s average capacity utilisation is 63.32 per cent, while its average diesel supply is 0.133 million litres per day.

The Authority also disclosed that Edo Refinery has an average capacity utilisation of 91.40 per cent with an average diesel supply of 0.060 ml/d.

It said Aradel has an average utilisation capacity of 62.30 per cent but supplied an average of 0.296 ml/d in the period under review.

The NMDPRA said that in November 2025, the country’s average daily supply of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), also known as cooking gas, rose to 5 mt/day from 4 mt/day in October 2025.

The document also revealed the volume of gas utilised by strategic sectors, noting that gas-to-power was 0.645 Bscf/d, gas to commercial was 0.581 Bscf/d, and gas-based industries were 0.420 Bscf/d.

The NMDPRA said LNG exported by the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) was 101,555 m³/d, while natural gas exported via the West African Gas Pipeline (WAGP) was 0.121 Bscf/d.