Refinery owners in Nigeria have called on the Federal Government to immediately halt the importation of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, citing the availability of over 500 million litres of PMS in stock at the Dangote Petroleum Refinery.

The call comes amid growing concerns over the continued reliance on imported petrol despite the operational readiness of local refineries. According to the Crude Oil Refineries Association of Nigeria (CORAN), locally refined petrol stocks are sufficient to meet the nation’s fuel demands for weeks.

This development has raised questions about the rationale behind the government’s continued approval of fuel importation, which has significantly drained foreign exchange reserves. In a statement issued by CORAN, refinery owners argued that the availability of locally refined petrol should eliminate the need for imports.

“Why won’t the marketers or whosoever is importing simply go to Dangote and pick that when we have seen empirically that the Dangote product is cheaper?” CORAN asked in the statement.

It further stated, “MRS, which is sourcing petrol from Dangote, is selling at a cheaper rate than the NNPC. So, there’s nothing to justify the importation of petroleum products as per the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) and the requirements for backward integration.”

The Dangote Refinery, located in the Lekki Free Trade Zone, Lagos, has a production capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, making it the largest single-train refinery in the world.

“Dangote has in stock 500 million litres of PMS. That’s their production stock for 10 days, and it hasn’t been depleted. So, I don’t understand why there’s a need to give licenses for importation when we have 500 million litres from only one refinery,” the CORAN statement said.

Since its commissioning, the refinery has been instrumental in reducing Nigeria’s dependence on imported petroleum products, a long-standing challenge for Africa’s largest oil producer.

Industry experts have also weighed in, emphasizing the economic benefits of halting petrol imports.

“Every litre of petrol imported into Nigeria puts pressure on our foreign exchange reserves and increases the cost of fuel for consumers. With local refineries like Dangote now operational, it makes no sense to continue importing,” said Chinedu Okkonkwo, an energy analyst in a Lagos-based consulting firm.

As the debate over petrol importation continues, stakeholders are urging the government to prioritize the development of the local refining sector, which they believe holds the key to Nigeria’s energy independence and economic growth.