Fuel imports gulp nearly N1tn amid Dangote-importers feud

Nigeria spent N952.15bn on imported Premium Motor Spirit in the second quarter of 2026, despite growing domestic refining capacity and an escalating dispute between the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and fuel importers over the continued inflow of foreign petrol, The PUNCH reports.

An analysis of the National Bureau of Statistics’ Foreign Trade in Goods Statistics report for Q2 2026, published on Monday, showed that petrol imports rose almost 11-fold from N87.40bn in the first three months of the year.

The increase means the country’s PMS import bill jumped by N864.75bn, or 989.4 per cent, between the first and second quarters of 2026.

Put differently, Nigeria spent about 10.9 times more on imported petrol between April and June than it did between January and March.

The NBS ranked “Motor Spirit Ordinary” as Nigeria’s biggest imported commodity in Q2, ahead of crude petroleum, durum wheat, used diesel or semi-diesel vehicles and motorcycles.

“The most imported commodities during the quarter were Motor Spirit Ordinary, petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals (crude), durum wheat, used vehicles with diesel or semi-diesel engines and Motorcycles and cycles fitted with auxiliary motor, petrol fuel, capacity >50<250cc, CKD,” the report read.

At N952.15bn, PMS accounted for 6.60 per cent of the country’s N14.42tn total import bill during the quarter.

However, despite the sharp quarterly increase, petrol imports remained significantly lower than the level recorded a year earlier.

The country imported N2.83tn worth of PMS in Q2 2025, indicating that the N952.15bn recorded in Q2 2026 represented a decline of N1.88tn, or about 66.4 per cent, year-on-year.

The figures indicate that while dependence on foreign petrol has fallen substantially compared with 2025, imports rebounded strongly in the second quarter after dropping to N87.40bn in Q1.

The resurgence in petrol imports comes amid a running disagreement between the Dangote refinery and petroleum marketers over the continued importation of refined products despite increased domestic refining capacity.

Earlier, The PUNCH reported that the Dangote refinery was considering stopping the sale of petrol to major marketers that continue to import petrol into Nigeria, amid concerns over product quality and the blending of imported fuel with products supplied by the refinery.

The proposed measure could take effect soon, subject to further consultations and any last-minute intervention, according to sources familiar with the situation. The immediate concern was that some marketers were allegedly blending imported PMS with petrol purchased from the Dangote refinery before distributing the resulting product to the market.

The refinery is concerned that such practices could make it difficult to distinguish between products supplied directly by Dangote and products subsequently blended or handled by third parties.

The refinery also raised concerns about what it called a lack of a standard laboratory and adequate quality-control infrastructure for imported petroleum products, particularly the capacity to independently verify and certify the specifications of products entering the Nigerian market.

The latest development comes barely days after the Dangote refinery warned that rising petrol imports were forcing it to export excess stocks despite having sufficient capacity to meet Nigeria’s domestic demand.

The refinery said imported PMS accounted for approximately 43 per cent of fuel supplied into the Nigerian market in July, saying the continued issuance of petrol import licences had created uncertainty over domestic demand and made production and inventory planning increasingly difficult.

Dangote said it had consistently maintained sufficient inventory and reserved product volumes to guarantee steady supply to the Nigerian market but argued that keeping large stocks indefinitely was becoming commercially unsustainable when it could not determine how much imported petrol would enter the country.

“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.

The refinery said the surplus petrol that could not be absorbed by the domestic market would consequently have to be exported to regional and international markets.

However, importers and petroleum marketers recently kicked against the reported plan by the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals to stop selling petrol to marketers who import petrol, describing the move as an attempt to block imports.

The marketers also challenged the refinery to provide evidence that imported petrol entering the Nigerian market is below the required quality standard.

Higher import value

Further analysis suggests that the nearly 11-fold increase in the value of petrol imports in the second quarter may have been driven more by higher international fuel prices than increased import volumes.

NBS data showed that PMS imports surged from N87.40bn in Q1 2026 to N952.15bn in Q2, representing a 989.4 per cent increase.

However, NMDPRA data showed that imported PMS averaged 11.23 million litres per day in Q1, based on monthly receipts of 24.8 million litres in January, three million litres in February and 5.9 million litres in March.

The Q2 average fell by 17.8 per cent to 9.23 million litres per day, despite imports rising sharply from 3.7 million litres per day in April to 18.1 million litres in June. The regulator’s data also showed domestic supply rising from 40.7 million litres per day in April to 41.5 million litres in May.

The divergence suggests that higher prices may have contributed significantly to the import bill rather than a corresponding increase in volumes.

The period coincided with the US-Iran war, which disrupted global oil supplies and pushed crude and refined-product prices higher.

Domestic refinery supply, however, moved in the opposite direction, rising from an average of 34.57 million litres per day in Q1 to 38.23 million litres per day in Q2, an increase of 10.6 per cent.

This lifted domestic refineries’ share of PMS supply from about 75.5 per cent to 80.5 per cent, while the import share fell from 24.5 per cent to 19.5 per cent.

The PUNCH earlier reported that marketers may turn away from imported petrol in favour of locally refined products as the cost of imported Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) rose to over N45 per litre above the price of petrol from the Dangote Petroleum Refinery.

The development is likely to weaken the competitiveness of petrol imports further, buttressing calls by some marketers that the Federal Government should halt the importation of PMS because imported products are more expensive than locally refined fuel.

The latest energy bulletin of the Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria showed that while the Dangote refinery’s gantry price stood at N1,265 per litre, the spot import-parity price was N1,310.64 per litre under the ASPM benchmark.

Under another benchmark, the spot import-parity price stood at N1,309.63 per litre. The figures indicate that imported petrol was N45.64 per litre more expensive than the locally produced product under the ASPM benchmark and N44.63 higher under the NPSC-NOJ benchmark.

The development provides a fresh dimension to the debate over petrol pricing in Nigeria, coming shortly after the Dangote refinery increased its gantry price from N1,165 to N1,265 per litre.

Despite the N100 increase, the refinery’s product remained cheaper than the prevailing spot import-parity price, according to the MEMAN data.

The bulletin also put Dangote’s coastal PMS price at N1,245 per litre. The latest figures suggest that local refining continued to offer a price advantage over imported petrol, even as international refined-product prices remained elevated.

The price differential has also raised questions over the continued importation of petrol, with the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria earlier urging the Federal Government to halt the importation of premium motor spirit.

IPMAN had argued that imported petrol had become more expensive than locally refined products and was frustrating efforts to stabilise prices in the downstream sector.

The association said the continued issuance of fuel import licences was worsening price volatility, putting additional pressure on the naira and undermining the competitiveness of domestic refineries, particularly the Dangote Petroleum Refinery.

The National Publicity Secretary of IPMAN, Chinedu Ukadike, said the import licences issued by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority in July had failed to achieve their intended objective of moderating domestic fuel prices.

According to him, petrol imported under the licences was being sold at rates significantly higher than the price of products supplied by the Dangote refinery.

Ukadike said, “Independent marketers have looked at the issues of price volatility, import licences and the sale of petroleum products in dollars. I want to use this opportunity to urge the Federal Government to transparently review these issues through the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, which is the industry’s regulator.

“The recent import licences, which were expected to serve as a guide and a check on the prices of petroleum products refined locally, are not yielding the results we expected. We were shocked that the licences issued to depot owners to import petroleum products are resulting in prices far higher than what Dangote has been selling to us.”

He stressed that the objective of allowing fuel imports was to create competition capable of checking domestic prices but noted that the policy had produced the opposite outcome.

N546.02bn PMS exported

The latest NBS data further provide another dimension to the debate, showing that Nigeria is not only importing petrol but is also exporting increasing amounts of the product.

PMS exports climbed from N452.48bn in the first quarter to N546.02bn in Q2 2026, an increase of N93.54bn or 20.67 per cent.

Petrol consequently accounted for about 2.02 per cent of Nigeria’s N27.02tn total exports in the second quarter.

A large share of the exported petrol went to other African countries.

According to the NBS, Nigeria exported N416.78bn worth of PMS to African markets during the quarter, accounting for 6.26 per cent of the N6.65tn worth of goods shipped to the continent.

West Africa alone received N376.46bn worth of Nigerian petrol, equivalent to 9.86 per cent of the country’s N3.82tn exports to the sub-region.

This means African markets accounted for about 76.3 per cent of Nigeria’s total PMS exports during the quarter, while West Africa alone represented nearly 69 per cent.

At the recent Global Commodity Insights Conference on West African Refined Fuel Markets hosted by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority in partnership with S&P Global Insights, President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, said Nigeria has become a net exporter of petrol.

He said, “Today, Nigeria has actually become a net exporter of refined products. Before I came on the podium, I asked my people how many tonnes of PMS we have actually exported. From June beginning to date, we have exported about 1 million tonnes of PMS, within the last 50 days,” he said.

However, the latest trade figures suggest that Nigeria moved into a net import position in value terms for PMS in the second quarter of 2026, with imports of N952.15bn exceeding exports of N546.02bn. The difference amounted to about N406.12bn, meaning the country spent roughly 74 per cent more on imported petrol than it earned from PMS exports during the quarter. (Punch)