By Chibuzor Alli
Nigeria’s reliance on imported petrol eased in August as domestic supplies increased sharply, with the Dangote Petroleum Refinery accounting for about 71 per cent of the country’s total petrol receipts during the month.
The development came as the refinery ended August with 630.9 million litres of refined petroleum products in stock, including 360.4 million litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), according to the latest State of the Midstream and Downstream Sector factsheet released by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority.
The regulator’s figures show that average daily petrol imports fell by 26 per cent to 14.6 million litres in August, from 19.7 million litres in July.
Over the same period, domestic PMS receipts climbed by 39 per cent, from 25.8 million litres per day to 35.9 million litres per day.
As a result, total daily petrol receipts increased by 11 per cent to 50.5 million litres in August, from 45.5 million litres in July. Domestic supplies exceeded imports by 21.3 million litres per day.
The Dangote refinery supplied an average of 35.87 million litres of petrol to the domestic market each day during the month, while its average PMS production stood at 41.94 million litres per day.
The refinery also exported an average of 9.73 million litres of PMS daily during August, according to the NMDPRA.
Its reported average capacity utilisation was 105.21 per cent during the month, while petrol stocks stood at 360.4 million litres at the end of August.
Refinery holds 631m litres
The refinery’s total closing inventory comprised 360.4 million litres of petrol, 137.2 million litres of automotive gas oil (diesel) and 133.3 million litres of aviation turbine kerosene.
Combined, the three products amounted to 630.9 million litres in stock at the end of August.
The increase in domestic petrol supply coincided with a steep reduction in diesel imports. Average daily diesel imports plunged by 84 per cent, from 7.9 million litres in July to 1.3 million litres in August.
Petrol consumption also declined during the month. NMDPRA data put average PMS consumption at 41.5 million litres per day in August, down 14 per cent from 48.3 million litres per day in July.
The regulator said the consumption figures were based on volumes trucked into the domestic market.
Despite the fall in consumption, petrol stock sufficiency improved slightly, rising from 22.4 days in July to 22.9 days in August. Diesel stock sufficiency increased more significantly, from 46.5 days to 51.6 days.
Local crude supply rises
The expansion in domestic refining activity also came alongside higher crude oil receipts by local refineries.
According to NMDPRA, crude oil receipts increased by 17 per cent to 683,000 barrels per day in August, from 585,000 barrels per day in July.
Between January and August, local refineries received 137.98 million barrels of feedstock. Domestic crude accounted for 109.88 million barrels, while 28.10 million barrels came from imported seaborne crude.
Domestic crude therefore represented 79.64 per cent of refinery feedstock during the first eight months of the year.
However, the three state-owned refineries operated by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited — in Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna — recorded no production during August, according to the regulator.
Import competition remains
The latest figures come against the backdrop of concerns raised by the Dangote refinery over the continued entry of imported petrol into the Nigerian market.
The refinery had previously warned that sustained imports could leave it holding excess inventory despite its ability to supply the domestic market.
In July, the company said imported PMS accounted for about 43 per cent of fuel supplied into Nigeria, arguing that the continued issuance of import licences made demand planning and inventory management more difficult.
“As a responsible energy provider, we have always endeavoured to keep adequate reserves to satisfy local demand at all times.
“However, in an environment where significant volumes of imported PMS continue to enter the market through licences issued by the regulator, and where there is limited visibility on future import volumes, it becomes commercially unsustainable to continue holding excess inventory indefinitely,” the refinery said in July.
The company said excess petrol that could not be absorbed by the domestic market would have to be sold into regional and international markets.
It said its growing exports were therefore a response to excess inventory rather than an inability to supply Nigeria.
The August data nevertheless show a shift towards domestic supply, with petrol imports falling substantially while receipts from domestic sources rose. At the same time, Dangote ended the month holding more than 630 million litres of petrol, diesel and aviation fuel, underscoring the scale of inventory now being maintained as domestic refining expands.
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