Nigeria imported fuel and diesel valued at about N930 billion in February 2025, despite increasing local refining capacity, raise concerns about policy direction and economic rationale.
The latest data on fuel imports shows that, in addition to the N930 billion spent in February 2025, oil marketers licensed by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority imported petroleum products worth N5.5 trillion between October 2024 and January 2025.
Despite the rising capacity of the Dangote Refinery and the NNPC-owned Port Harcourt Refinery—both of which produce petrol—Nigeria continues to rely heavily on fuel imports.
Additionally, the Warri Refinery and several modular refineries, mainly in the Niger Delta, refine diesel locally.
In February 2025, the NMDPRA defended its decision to license oil marketers for fuel imports, citing the need to address supply shortfalls.
The agency revealed that local refineries currently meet only 50% of Nigeria’s daily fuel consumption, making imports necessary to cover the deficit.
In his addess to pressmen, the Executive Director of Distribution, Systems, Storage, and Retailing Infrastructure of NMDPRA, Ogbugo Ukoha, said “Just before the current administration came in, the daily PMS supply sufficiency was always more than 60 million.
“In fact, 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 in accordance with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) is sourced by way of imports. So just for clarity, what I’m saying is that the contribution of local refineries towards the sufficiency is less than 50 per cent.”
Meanwhile, the President of Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, stated in February that his refinery had over 500 million litres of petrol and petroleum products worth N600 billion in stock.
Business Consultant, Dan Kunle supported this view, warning that Nigeria’s continued reliance on fuel imports could undermine recent gains in naira stability.
Import data for February 2025 showed that Nigeria imported 701.75 million litres of petrol and 265.88 million litres of diesel.
This reinforces concerns about forex pressure, local refining inefficiencies, and the need for a clearer policy to transition toward self-sufficiency in fuel production.
“These significant import figures come at a time when local refining output is increasing. Two of NNPC’s four refineries, in Warri and Port Harcourt, have reportedly resumed operations, while private refineries such as Dangote Refinery, Waltersmith, and Aradel are actively producing.
“Despite these positive developments, the continued large-scale importation of refined petroleum products underscores structural bottlenecks in the industry, including logistics challenges, production scale-up issues, and supply chain inefficiencies,” Kunle explained.
