Petrol Imports Fall 26% as Dangote Supplies 71% of Fuel Received in August

Nigeria's average daily petrol imports fell 26 per cent in August, from 19.7 million litres in July to 14.6 million litres, while domestic deliveries rose sharply, according to the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).

Dangote Petroleum Refinery supplied about 71 per cent of the petrol received for the Nigerian market during the month. Total petrol receipts, imports plus local supply, climbed 11 per cent to 50.5 million litres per day from 45.5 million litres in July.

Domestic supply takes the lead

NMDPRA's August 2026 factsheet shows domestic receipts jumped 39 per cent, from 25.8 million litres daily to 35.9 million litres daily. Imported petrol still accounted for roughly 29 per cent of total receipts.

The Dangote refinery produced an average of 41.94 million litres of petrol daily in August and ended the month with 630.9 million litres of combined petroleum products in storage. That stock comprised 360.4 million litres of petrol, 137.2 million litres of diesel and 133.3 million litres of aviation fuel.

The refinery's full storage figure cannot be counted as petrol available to motorists. The closing inventory number also came without a comparison against opening stocks, so it does not prove petrol accumulated during the month or that every stored litre was waiting for domestic buyers.

The state-owned refineries in Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna recorded no production in August.

Consumption and stock days

Reported petrol consumption fell 14 per cent, from 48.3 million litres daily in July to 41.5 million litres in August. NMDPRA measures this indicator using volumes trucked into the domestic market, so it should not be read automatically as households buying less fuel because of high prices.

Petrol stock sufficiency improved only marginally, from 22.4 days to 22.9 days.

Dangote has argued that uncertainty over import volumes complicates its inventory planning and could force it to export products the local market does not absorb. That remains the refinery's commercial position. The presence of imports alongside domestic stock does not, by itself, prove those imports were unnecessary.

What it means for motorists

The gap in the data is price. The NMDPRA figures carry no July-to-August comparison of refinery gate, depot or filling-station prices, so they cannot show how much, if anything, motorists saved as local supply expanded.

Separately, the Federal Government has approved the importation of 830,000 metric tonnes of Premium Motor Spirit for the fourth quarter of 2026, ahead of higher demand during the Christmas and New Year festivities. That approval came as Dangote cut its petrol prices below estimated import landing costs.

A weekly market review by Petroleumprice.ng showed depot rates falling to as low as N1,330 per litre in Warri, Port Harcourt and Calabar, while Lagos held relatively firm at about N1,350 per litre.

For now, August's numbers confirm stronger domestic refining. Whether that reaches the pump as cheaper fuel remains unanswered.