The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has suspended the issuance of new petrol import licences, citing improved domestic production that is currently sufficient to meet Nigeria’s consumption needs.
The development was disclosed in the authority’s February 2026 “State of the Midstream and Downstream Fact Sheet”, which showed that no new import licences were granted during the month.
According to the report, the Dangote Refinery supplied an average of 36.5 million litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, per day to the domestic market in February. Imports, which averaged 3 million litres per day—the lowest level recorded in the past year—still supplemented supply.
Overall petrol supply in February stood at 39.6 million litres per day, representing a shortfall of 25.4 million litres compared with the 64.9 million litres supplied daily in January. The NMDPRA attributed the decline primarily to reduced imports.
“PMS supply in February 2026 reduced by 25.4 ML/D due to significant drop in imports,” the authority stated.
Reacting to the development, George Ene-Ita, spokesperson for the NMDPRA, explained that the regulator halted new import licences because local production currently meets domestic consumption levels.
“At this moment, there is no need to import because local production is meeting supply. When there is a shortfall, we will issue licensing to buffer local production,” Ene-Ita said.
He added that the decision aligns with the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), which permits petrol imports only when domestic supply is insufficient.
“If there is a shortfall, it opens the need for importation. If national production meets consumption, there is no need to import,” he said.
In contrast, in January 2025, the NMDPRA under its previous leadership had defended the issuance of import licences, noting that the Dangote Refinery at the time was unable to meet national petrol demand.
The fact sheet also provided updates on the operational status of government-owned refineries. The Port Harcourt refinery remained shut in February, though diesel produced before the shutdown was still evacuated, averaging 392,000 litres per day.
The Kaduna refinery also remained inactive, with only 27,000 litres of diesel per day trucked to the domestic market from existing stocks. Meanwhile, the Warri refinery remained completely inactive, with no evacuation recorded during the month.
Despite these shutdowns, three modular refineries—Waltersmith, Edo, and Aradel—supplied an average of 368,000 litres of diesel per day in February. Hydrocarbon introduction at the Waltersmith refinery is reportedly ongoing.
The report further showed that Nigeria’s petrol consumption benchmark stands at 50 million litres per day, while actual supply averaged 56.9 million litres daily. Domestic supply of diesel averaged 24.4 million litres per day, and natural gas supply was 4.77 billion standard cubic feet (scf) daily.
Diesel consumption averaged 20.3 million litres per day, while aviation fuel usage stood at 2.9 million litres daily.
