NIGERIA’s imports of gasoline is on course for an eight-year low, dropping to 110,000 barrels a day between January 1-24, 2025.

Data compiled by Bloomberg from analytics firm Vortexa show this on Wednesday, January 29.

It attributed the drop in petrol importation into the country to the ramp-up of petroleum production from the Dangote Refinery.

“Shipments into the country stood at about 110,000 barrels-a-day during Jan. 1-24, data compiled by Bloomberg from analytics firm Vortexa show.

“If that rate were to continue for the rest of the month, the country’s imports—most of which come from Europe—would hit their lowest since 2017,” it said.

The 650,000 nameplate refinery started the production of premium motor spirit (PMS), otherwise known as petrol, in September 2024, after months of delay in coming on stream, arising from regulatory bottlenecks and securing crude oil from the state-owned oil firm, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).

The data further indicated that the country’s new mega-refinery is pushing out foreign suppliers, boosting the African nation’s fuel independence.

“A large part of the slowdown in Nigeria’s gasoline imports is due to the ramp-up of the Dangote refinery,” Vortexa analyst Samantha Hartke was quoted to have said. “Northwest Europe will have to find alternative homes for its gasoline supplies.”

The 110,000bpd is the lowest since 2017 when imports used to be above 200,000bpd and sometimes as high as 400,000bpd.

Industry experts also hold the view that the Dangote refinery, which has the highest refining capacity in Africa and Europe, has disrupted global oil trade and pushed some refineries in Europe out of the market.

Although the refinery is not yet operating at its full capacity, it is seen boosting Nigeria’s fuel independence by reducing imports.

Stockpiles of gasoline held in independent storage in Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp — a key exporting hub for barrels to Nigeria — have meanwhile hit a record high, according to figures from Insights Global, adding that the stockpiles have surged to record highs.

The Dangote refinery, which is getting most of its field stocks from the United States as the NNPCL appears not to meet crude supply to the refinery, has helped reduce Nigeria’s imports of refined petroleum products while also exporting to other countries.

Dangote’s PMS is being exported to various African countries including Ghana, Togo, Cameroon, South Africa, and Angola, as well as to Europe.

Earlier this month, The ICIR reported that the Dangote Refinery ramping up of production capacity was pushing some European refineries which hitherto serviced the Nigerian market out of business.