Nigeria’s daily petrol imports have plunged by 30 million litres a 67 per cent dropver an eight-month period, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) disclosed on Tuesday.
According to NMDPRA Chief Executive Officer, Farouk Ahmed, petrol imports fell from 44.6 million litres per day in August 2024 to just 14.7 million litres as of April 13, 2025. Ahmed revealed this at the sixth edition of the Meet-the-Press briefing organised by the Presidential Communications Team at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
He attributed the sharp decline in imports to a significant increase in local production, which rose by 670 per cent within the same period. From virtually no contribution in August, local refineries boosted supply to 26.2 million litres per day in early April 2025. This rise began in September, with an initial 3.4 million litres per day output.
Ahmed credited the surge in domestic supply to the phased restart of the Port Harcourt Refining Company in late November and the steady contribution from modular refineries across the country.
Despite the improvements, the combined supply has only surpassed the government’s benchmark of 50 million litres per day twice in November (56 million litres) and February (52.3 million litres). March saw a slight dip to 51.5 million litres, while average supply for the first half of April remained below target at 40.9 million litres.
The NMDPRA boss stressed that the Authority only issues import licenses based on the country’s actual supply needs, reinforcing the government’s commitment to self-sufficiency in fuel supply.
