The Dangote Petroleum Refinery supplied approximately 92 percent of Nigeria’s daily petrol demand in February, following the Federal Government’s suspension of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) imports.
Despite a N100 reduction in the gantry price by the Dangote refinery, petrol stations on Tuesday maintained retail prices above N1,200 per litre.
Multiple sources within the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and major fuel-importing companies confirmed on Tuesday that no licences have been issued for fuel imports this year.
Officials at NMDPRA noted that the country currently does not require petrol imports, as domestic refining capacity is sufficient to meet Nigeria’s daily fuel needs.
“It’s correct that we’ve not issued import licences this year. It is obvious that the local production has met national requirements. So, there’s no need for importation,” an impeccable source at the NMDPRA, who spoke to one of our correspondents in confidence due to the lack of authorisation to speak on the matter, stated.
Figures released in the February 2026 fact sheet by the NMDPRA show that local refineries supplied 36.5 million litres per day of petrol in February 2026, while imports contributed just three million litres per day.
This brought the total national daily supply for February to 39.5 million litres, with domestic refining accounting for roughly 92 per cent of the volume, a sharp shift from the long-standing dependence on imported fuel. The data indicates a drastic drop in imports compared with the previous month.
Currently, the Dangote refinery is the only plant that produces petrol, as other modular refineries basically refine crude for the production of Automotive Gas Oil (diesel).
In January 2026, petrol imports by oil marketing companies and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited averaged 24.8 million litres per day, while domestic refineries supplied 40.1 million litres per day, pushing total daily supply to 64.9 million litres.
The NMDPRA noted that the sharp reduction in imports caused overall supply to decline significantly in February. The regulator’s report stated, “PMS supply in February 2026 reduced by 25.4 million litres per day due to a significant drop in imports.”