Nigeria’s Petrol Imports Drop to Nine-Year Low as Dangote Refinery Boosts Local Supply
Story: written by Joseph March 11,2026
Nigeria’s reliance on imported petrol has dropped to its lowest level in nearly a decade, signaling a major transformation in the country’s fuel supply chain as domestic refining capacity expands.
The sharp decline in imports was largely driven by increased production from the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and stricter regulatory control over petrol import approvals.
Shipping intelligence from Kpler showed that petrol imports into Nigeria plunged to about 50,000 barrels per day (bpd) in February 2026. The figure represents more than a 50 percent reduction compared with previous months and nearly a two-thirds drop from the same period last year.
For many years, Nigeria has been the largest petrol importer in West Africa due to limited refining capacity at home. However, the gradual expansion of operations at the Dangote refinery — which has a processing capacity of about 650,000 barrels per day — is beginning to significantly reduce the country’s dependence on foreign fuel supplies.
Data released by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) showed that domestic petrol production rose strongly in early 2026 as the refinery resumed full operations following routine maintenance earlier in the year.
According to the regulator, the refinery delivered around 36.5 million litres of petrol daily in February, accounting for approximately 64 percent of Nigeria’s fuel consumption. Total national petrol demand during the period averaged about 56.9 million litres per day.
To strengthen fuel distribution across the country, the refinery also entered into a supply agreement with 12 petroleum product marketers to deliver between 60 million and 65 million litres of petrol daily to the local market.
Industry analysts say the drop in imports indicates that Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector may be entering a new phase, with domestic refining capacity playing a greater role in meeting national fuel demand.
The refinery recently completed a two-week maintenance exercise on its crude distillation unit, while some auxiliary units such as the naphtha hydrotreater, isomerisation unit, and catalytic reformer continued running at lower capacity after earlier servicing work.
Meanwhile, the refinery’s Residual Fluid Catalytic Cracker — a key unit used in petrol production — has resumed operations at roughly 90 percent capacity following test runs conducted in mid-February.
Despite the sharp drop in import volumes, Europe remained Nigeria’s primary source of petrol shipments, supplying around 38,000 barrels per day in February.
However, Nigeria’s share of Europe’s gasoline exports has declined significantly, falling to about four percent compared with roughly 12 percent recorded during the same period last year.
Industry sources also noted that tighter controls on petrol import permits contributed to the reduction in shipments, as regulators slowed approvals and encouraged marketers to rely on available domestic fuel supplies.
By late January, only one import permit covering about 300,000 tonnes of petrol had reportedly been issued to MRS Oil Nigeria Plc.
Analysts say the continued growth of local refining capacity could further reduce Nigeria’s long-standing dependence on imported fuel and reshape the country’s energy supply structure.
