Nigeria’s petrol imports rose by 207 per cent in June, increasing from 5.9 million litres per day in May to 18.1 million litres daily, according to the latest industry data released by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).
The sharp increase pushed total petrol imports from 182.9 million litres in May to 543 million litres in June, raising demand for foreign exchange and adding fresh pressure on the naira.
The latest figures also showed that total daily petrol supply increased to 50.6 million litres in June from 47.4 million litres recorded in May.
The development comes amid continuing disagreement between Dangote Refinery and petroleum marketers over fuel imports, with the refinery insisting its production capacity is sufficient to meet Nigeria’s domestic fuel demand.
However, marketers and the NMDPRA maintain that imports remain necessary to guarantee supply security, stabilise prices and prevent excessive market concentration.
Despite the rise in imports, crude oil supply to local refineries increased by 10 per cent from 578,000 barrels per day in May to 632,000 barrels per day in June.
The report also showed that Nigeria’s petrol stock sufficiency improved from 16.2 days to 19.7 days during the period.
Meanwhile, diesel supply declined by 14 per cent to 16.2 million litres per day, while kerosene supply dropped by 31 per cent to 2.5 million litres daily.
The NMDPRA also reported progress on key gas infrastructure projects, with the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) gas pipeline reaching 94.3 per cent completion and the OB3 gas pipeline attaining 96 per cent completion as of June 2026.
