Nigeria still reliant on fuel imports as local refineries supply less than 50% – Regulator
DESPITE the widely praised rehabilitation efforts of Nigerian-owned refineries, local production still falls short, supplying less than 50 per cent of the country’s fuel consumption, according to the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).
The NMDPRA chief executive, Farouk Ahmed, said at a press conference on Wednesday, February 19, in Abuja where he was represented by the executive director of distribution System, Storage, and Retailing Infrastructure, Ogbugo Ukoha.
According to him, the significant shortfall is being filled through the importation of refined petroleum products in line with the 2021 Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) provisions.
“Just before the current administration came in. The daily PMS supply sufficiency was always more than 60 million. “Averaging about 66 million a day for PMS. And following Mr. President’s withdrawal of subsidy, the announcement of May 29th, 2023, we immediately saw a steep decline in consumption. And between then and as we speak, we’ve continued to do plus or minus 50 million.
“Of these 50 million litres averaging for each day, less than 50 per cent of that is contributed by domestic refineries. And so the shortfall by the PIA is sourced by way of imports,” Ahmed was quoted to have said.
In September 2024, the 650,000 barrels per day (bpd) Dangote Refinery started the production of petrol after months of delay to reach an agreement.
The Port Harcourt and Warri refineries also came on stream after being moribund for decades and following a $1.5 billion turnaround maintenance cost in 2021.
The ICIR reported that there have been skeletal operations of the Port Harcourt refinery months after commissioning despite officials claiming that the facility is working at advanced levels of production, supplying products to Nigerians.
While the refinery was once loading over 100 trucks of petroleum products daily, current output struggles to reach 30 trucks, the report spotlighted.
Confirming Nigeria is still heavily dependent on petrol imports, with over 50 per cent coming in from foreign countries, the NMDPRA boss, however, asserted that no oil company that owns a refinery has imported petroleum products into the country this year.
Other oil marketing companies (OMCs) are the ones that are importing the shortfall to bridge the gap and avert a scarcity, he said.
“Let me also say that none of the oil marketing companies, the companies that own refineries in the country for this year have imported any PMS. The other OMCs are the ones that are importing the shortfall. And if we do nothing to bridge that shortfall, we will have scarcity in our hands.
“And that’s something that the regulator is mindful of, to ensure that there is sufficient supply of petroleum products across the country. So just for clarity, what I am saying is that the contribution of local refineries towards sufficiency is less than 50 per cent. That is between January and February 2025, which is less than 50 per cent of what we require daily. And that shortfall is sourced by way of imports,” the NMDPRA boss maintained.
He explained that even though none of the local refineries have imported petrol this year, they could if the situation arises.
Ahmed further refutes reports on substandard petrol products in the country.
He said all the petroleum products imported into the country this year were of standard quality, insisting that all petroleum products meet the specifications of the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and the Petroleum Industry Act 2021.
“People who dabble within the social media space must be reminded that it is disrespectful if you imagine that Nigerians are gullible,” he warned.