Nigeria imported approximately 1.31 billion litres of petrol in December 2025, even as domestic production from Dangote Petroleum Refinery rose significantly, according to data from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).
Okay News reports that total petrol supply averaged 74.2 million litres per day in December, with imports accounting for 42.2 million litres per day and Dangote supplying 32 million litres per day.
This compares with November, when imports stood at 1.57 billion litres (52.1 million litres per day) and Dangote supplied 585 million litres (19.5 million litres per day), bringing the monthly total to 2.15 billion litres.
The jump to 2.3 billion litres in December reflects seasonal demand pressures during the Yuletide period.
Despite the growth in local refining, some marketers continue to favour imported petrol, maintaining a reliance on foreign supply to meet demand.
NMDPRA justified November import licences by citing shortages in September and October 2025, when Dangote supplied 17.6 million litres per day and imports averaged 22.1 million litres per day.
In response, President of Dangote Group Aliko Dangote accused the former NMDPRA Chief Executive Farouk Ahmed of granting “reckless licences” for fuel importation while refinery tanks were full, describing it as economic sabotage.
Dangote noted that licences were issued for about 7.5 billion litres in the first quarter of 2026, despite the refinery’s guarantee to meet domestic needs.
The refinery responded by slashing pump prices from around N900 to N739 per litre in December, though this came at a significant cost to both refiners and importers.
On Wednesday, newly appointed Managing Director of Dangote Refinery David Bird disclosed that the facility has commenced night-time loading operations to sustain a daily supply of more than 50 million litres of petrol across Nigeria.
Bird said the move to 24-hour operations became necessary to meet market demand and improve turnaround time for product evacuation.
He confirmed the refinery is meeting the 50 million litres daily requirement in both production and offtake, with some days exceeding 52 million litres.
The landing cost of imported PMS remains above Dangote’s ex-depot price of N699 per litre, according to data from the Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria (MEMAN).
MEMAN reported that the landing cost dropped to N754.96 per litre on Wednesday from N758 the previous week, creating a difference of about N44 per litre compared with Dangote’s gantry price.
Oil marketers noted that both domestically produced and imported fuel prices are likely to rise if crude oil continues its upward trend.
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