The Dangote Petroleum Refinery accounted for about 92 per cent of Nigeria’s daily petrol supply in February, as the Federal Government has paused the importation of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol).
This came as filling stations on Tuesday retained petrol prices at above N1200 per litre despite a N100 reduction in the gantry price by the Dangote refinery.
Multiple sources at the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority and among major fuel-importing companies confirmed to The PUNCH on Tuesday that no licences had been issued for fuel imports this year.
According to sources at the NMDPRA, the country does not need to import petrol now, as local refining can meet the country’s daily fuel needs.
It’s correct that we’ve not issued import licences this year. The local production has met national requirements. So, there’s no need for importation,” an impeccable source at the NMDPRA, who spoke to one of our correspondents in confidence due to the lack of authorisation to speak on the matter, stated.
Figures released in the February 2026 fact sheet by the NMDPRA show that local refineries supplied 36.5 million litres per day of petrol in February 2026, while imports contributed just three million litres per day.
This brought the total national daily supply for February to 39.5 million litres, with domestic refining accounting for roughly 92 per cent of the volume, a sharp shift from the long-standing dependence on imported fuel. The data indicates a drastic drop in imports compared with the previous month.
“In oil markets, conditions have deteriorated in recent days. In addition to the challenges of transit through the Strait of Hormuz, a substantial amount of oil production has been curtailed. This is creating significant and growing risks for the market.
“We discussed all the available options, including making IEA emergency oil stocks available to the market. IEA member countries currently hold over 1.2 billion barrels of public emergency oil stocks, with a further 600 million barrels of industry stocks held under government obligation,” he stated.
Given the conditions in oil markets, he said, IEA members are in close contact about the situation with energy ministers from key energy producers and consumers around the world.