In March, Nigeria imported 182,235,909 litres of Petroleum Motor Spirit (PMS), also referred to as petroleum.
This represents a 114% increase from the 85,097,124 litres imported in January, according to documents the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) submitted to the Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC).
Recall that NMDPRA announced in February that it had halted fuel imports in order to promote domestic refining.
However, the Dangote Refinery disagreed with the regulator, claiming that the commodity could be imported by six independent marketers.
However, according to the document, local refineries provided 1,111,987,635 (billion) of the product during the month, out of a total of 1,294,223,544 (billion).
It also stated that local refiners supplied the market with an average of 35,870,568 litres of PMS per day, whereas 5,878,578 litres were imported.
In March, Nigeria imported 182,235,909 litres of Petroleum Motor Spirit (PMS), also referred to as petroleum.
This represents a 114% increase over the 85,097,124 litres imported in January, according to documents the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) submitted to the Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC).
Recall that NMDPRA declared in February that it had halted fuel imports in order to promote domestic refining.
However, the Dangote Refinery disagreed with the regulator, claiming that the commodity could be imported by six independent marketers.
However, according to the document, local refineries supplied 1,111,987,635 (billion) of the product during the month, out of a total of 1,294,223,544 (billion).
It also stated that local refiners supplied an average of 35,870,568 litres of PMS to the market each day, whereas 5,878,578 litres were imported.
Additionally, Gombe received 15,443,642 litres, Borno received 14,380,481 litres, Bayelsa received 13,792,833 litres, Zamfara received 13,368,154 litres, Taraba received 13,278,858 litres, and Ekiti received 16,124,136 litres.
Yobe received 10,694,709 litres, Ebonyi received 11,926,065 litres, and Jigawa received the least amount (7,823,453 litres).
Import license controversy
The NMDPRA claimed that because the Dangote refinery could supply Nigeria’s petrol needs, it did not grant any import licenses during the first quarter of 2026.
However, a senior NMDPRA official recently clarified that the regulator never outlawed fuel imports, maintaining that the agency’s top priority is still energy security.
According to the official, a mix of locally refined and imported gasoline would guarantee supply stability throughout the nation.
Additionally, according to S&P Global, on May 6, the Authority issued new petrol import licenses worth 600,000 metric tonnes to six Nigerian marketers.
In order to support Nigeria’s new domestic refinery owned by Aliko Dangote, the NMDPRA has heavily regulated foreign arrivals of the country’s primary motor fuel. This is a significant policy departure from recent market norms.
According to S&P, the NMDPRA issued limited petrol import licenses to six companies in late March 2025 following an initial clampdown in October 2025. However, these licenses were left to expire at the end of the first quarter, raising questions about the agency’s future policy trajectory.
The Authority has significantly increased the allowances to cover more than three times the previously approved volume in its most recent licensing round, while maintaining restrictions on the number of businesses permitted to import foreign gasoline.
The licensed businesses, which include Matrix, AA Rano, AYM Shafa, Nipco, Pinnacle, and Bono, will be permitted to import between 60,000 and 150,000 mt of gasoline, depending on the type of permit, according to a list provided by a reliable market source and several West African traders, the report continued.
Larger international trading houses and oil companies will send the fuel and load it onto smaller ships from the nearby offshore Lome market, where these entities usually purchase goods. The NMDPRA and none of the marketers were available for official comment.
Umar’s appointment was approved by the Senate on May 7, while Mohammed, the NMDPRA’s immediate former CEO, was abruptly dismissed a few days ago after only four months in office. It’s unclear if Umar has taken on official responsibilities.
The Dangote refinery produced enough fuel to meet the nation’s entire domestic petrol consumption in March, operating at 94% of its capacity, according to the most recent NMDPRA data. Nevertheless, the local market’s supply decreased.
According to S&P Global Commodities at Sea data, Nigeria imported 60,000 b/d, or 218,000 mt, of gasoline in April. This was more than twice as much as the record low set in March, but it was still less than half of the average for 2026. Since the beginning of this year, the NMDPRA has declared that it has stopped issuing import licenses.
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