Local petrol supply drops 21% as imports return to Nigeria’s fuel market

Nigeria’s domestic petrol supply fell by 21% in July 2026 as imported fuel increased, signalling a renewed reliance on foreign supplies despite the country’s growing refining capacity.

According to the latest July 2026 midstream and downstream petroleum statistics, domestic Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) receipts declined from 32.5 million litres per day in June to 25.8 million litres per day in July.

Over the same period, petrol imports increased by 9%, from 18.1 million litres per day to 19.7 million litres.

The development means imported petrol accounted for a larger share of Nigeria’s fuel supply in July as local refinery supplies weakened.

Total PMS receipts also declined by 10%, falling from 50.6 million litres per day in June to 45.5 million litres per day in July.

The decline in domestic petrol receipts comes despite the increasing role of private refineries, particularly the Dangote Petroleum Refinery.

The refinery operated at an average capacity utilisation of more than 71% during July and produced approximately 25.9 million litres of petrol per day.

This was broadly in line with the 25.8 million litres per day recorded as total domestic PMS receipts.

However, crude oil receipts by domestic refineries declined by 8%, from 632,000 barrels per day in June to 585,000 barrels per day in July.

The reduction highlights one of the challenges facing Nigeria’s refining ambitions: having refining capacity does not automatically translate into higher fuel supply if crude feedstock is unavailable.

July’s figures extend a trend that began in June, when petrol imports surged by 207% to 18.1 million litres per day.

At the same time, domestic petrol supply fell by 22% to 32.5 million litres daily.

Although locally refined petrol remained the larger source of supply, the growing contribution of imported products shows that Nigeria’s fuel market still depends on foreign supplies to close supply gaps.

This is a significant shift from the direction of Nigeria’s downstream reforms, which have sought to reduce the country’s long-standing dependence on imported refined petroleum products.

The expansion of the Dangote refinery and efforts to revive government-owned refineries have increased domestic refining capacity, but July’s data shows that consistent refinery output and crude availability remain critical.

Automotive Gas Oil (AGO), commonly known as diesel, receipts rose by 46%, from 16.2 million litres per day in June to 23.6 million litres daily in July.

Domestic diesel receipts, however, declined slightly from 16.2 million litres to 15.7 million litres per day.

Imported diesel accounted for 7.9 million litres daily in July, after no imported AGO was recorded in June.

The development suggests that foreign petroleum products are increasingly being used to supplement local supplies when domestic output falls.

The rise in imports came as Nigeria’s recorded petrol consumption declined sharply.

PMS volumes trucked out into the domestic market fell by 25%, from 47.4 million litres per day in June to 35.7 million litres daily in July.

Despite the decline in consumption, petrol stock sufficiency improved from 19.7 days to 22.4 days.

Diesel stock sufficiency also increased from 37.1 days to 46.5 days, while diesel consumption declined from 16 million litres per day to 14.7 million litres.

The combination of lower consumption and higher stock coverage suggests that inventories remained relatively comfortable despite the decline in domestic petrol receipts.

The Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) market recorded a different pattern in July.

Total LPG receipts increased from 5.1 kilotonnes per day in June to 5.3 kilotonnes daily.

Domestic LPG supply rose by 22%, from 3.6 kilotonnes to 4.4 kilotonnes per day, while imports fell by 40%, from 1.5 kilotonnes to 0.9 kilotonnes daily.

LPG consumption also increased by 7% to 4.4 kilotonnes per day.

The figures suggest that domestic supply is becoming more prominent in the cooking gas market, even as imports regain ground in petrol and diesel.

Nigeria’s domestic gas receipts declined by 8%, from 5.116 billion cubic feet per day in June to 4.723 billion cubic feet per day in July.