By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria’s daily average petrol imports fell by 26 per cent to 14.6 million litres in August 2026, from 19.7 million litres in July, according to the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).
The figures were contained in the authority’s August 2026 Factsheet, which tracks petroleum product production, imports, domestic receipts, exports and inventories.
The decline coincided with increased domestic refining activity, particularly at the Dangote Refinery, while diesel imports fell even more sharply.
NMDPRA data showed that average daily diesel imports dropped to 1.3 million litres in August, from 7.9 million litres in July.
In contrast, Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) imports increased to 1.3 million litres per day, from 0.9 million litres in July.
Average daily receipts of key petroleum products stood at 50.5 million litres of petrol, 14.5 million litres of diesel and 3.1 million litres of aviation fuel. LPG receipts averaged 4.3 kilotonnes per day.
Recall that the NMDPRA this week extended import licenses for 830,000 metric tonnes of petrol for the fourth quarter to help quell any shortages.
The Dangote Refinery recorded average capacity utilisation of 105.2 per cent in August, producing 41.94 million litres of petrol, 18.01 million litres of diesel and 24.48 million litres of aviation fuel daily.
For petrol, domestic receipts averaged 35.87 million litres per day, while exports stood at 9.73 million litres and closing stock reached 360.4 million litres.
The refinery recorded daily diesel receipts of 12.37 million litres, exports of 8.75 million litres and closing stock of 137.2 million litres.
Aviation fuel exports averaged 21.30 million litres per day, compared with domestic receipts of 3.07 million litres, while closing stock stood at 133.3 million litres at the end of August.
The Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna refineries recorded no production during August, according to the NMDPRA factsheet. The facilities have remained moribund despite efforts by subsequent governments.
Among the modular refineries, WalterSmith recorded average capacity utilisation of 64.77 per cent, Edo Refinery 90.43 per cent, Aradel Refinery 58.77 per cent and OPAC 16.97 per cent.
WalterSmith produced 0.28 million litres of diesel daily, while Edo and Aradel produced 0.08 million litres and 0.31 million litres, respectively. OPAC produced 0.11 million litres per day.
The latest figures come amid significant changes in Nigeria’s petroleum import profile and domestic refining capacity.
Nigeria’s crude oil production remained above 1.5 million barrels per day for the third consecutive month in July 2026, despite a decline from the previous month, data from the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) showed.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s petrol import bill surged by 989.4 per cent quarter-on-quarter to N952.15 billion in Q2 2026, from N87.40 billion in Q1.
The country’s petrol import bill had previously fallen to $10 billion in 2025, from $14.06 billion in 2024, as domestic refining expanded.
The August data indicate a further reduction in imported petrol volumes, while domestic refineries, particularly the Dangote Refinery, supplied a growing share of refined petroleum products to the market.
