Nigeria’s Fuel Imports Drop to 8% Market Share in February, Report Shows

Eshioromeh Sebastian in Abuja

Nigeria’s reliance on imported petrol reached an all-time low in February 2026, with foreign refined products accounting for just eight per cent of the fuel supplied to the local market, according to the latest industry data.

An official factsheet on Nigeria’s midstream and downstream petroleum operations revealed a historic structural shift: locally refined fuel, led primarily by the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, now dominates the nation’s supply chain.

Domestic refineries contributed an average of 36.5 million litres of petrol per day in February, representing a staggering 92 per cent share of the total product supply.

This left imported petrol at merely 3.1 million litres per day, just eight per cent of the market, underscoring the growing role of domestic refining capacity in displacing expensive and logistically complex foreign imports.

The report attributed this shift to a sharp decline in total supply volumes, which fell from 64.9 million litres per day in January to 39.6 million litres per day in February.

The 25.4 million litres per day reduction, a 39.1 per cent drop, was driven almost entirely by the reduction in imported volumes. The document noted that the calculation of national fuel sufficiency for February now includes gross petrol stock held at the Dangote refinery, further highlighting the facility’s pivotal role in stabilising domestic supply.

Despite the lower total supply, Nigeria maintained a robust 31-day petrol sufficiency level during the month, indicating that the country held enough fuel stocks to meet demand for approximately one month. Average daily petrol consumption stood at 36.6 million litres, slightly below the total daily supply of 39.6 million litres, suggesting that available volumes were more than sufficient to meet market demand.

However, broader consumption statistics showed that overall petrol demand across the economy remained elevated. Based on the national consumption benchmark of 50 million litres per day, actual petrol usage measured through truck-out volumes averaged 56.9 million litres per day, about 13.8 per cent higher than the benchmark.

In the same vein, diesel demand also exceeded projections by a wide margin. While the benchmark for diesel consumption was 14 million litres per day, actual average daily usage reached 20.3 million litres, meaning diesel consumption was approximately 45 per cent above the expected level. Domestic refineries supplied an average of 8.2 million litres per day of diesel during February, although operational disruptions affected some facilities.

Aviation fuel demand remained largely stable relative to projections. The benchmark consumption level for aviation turbine fuel was 3 million litres per day, while actual daily usage averaged 2.9 million litres, representing a marginal 3.3 per cent shortfall.

Beyond large-scale operations, three modular refineries collectively supplied an average of 0.368 million litres per day, contributing modest but steady volumes to domestic fuel supply. Meanwhile, the WalterSmith refinery continued the introduction of hydrocarbons into its processing system, signalling ongoing efforts to ramp up refining activity within Nigeria’s modular refinery segment.

Across the broader petroleum products market, consumption remained robust. Cooking gas demand also remained strong, with average daily consumption reaching 4,194 metric tonnes.

Nigeria’s strategic fuel reserves remained adequate across key products. Diesel reserves were sufficient for 48 days, aviation fuel stocks could last 73 days, while cooking gas reserves stood at 22 days.

Beyond liquid fuels, Nigeria’s gas sector also maintained strong supply levels. Total average daily gas supply in February reached 4.771 billion standard cubic feet per day. Of this volume, 3.018 billion cubic feet per day was supplied to the Nigeria LNG plant, while 1.763 billion cubic feet per day was delivered to the domestic market.

Gas utilisation across sectors showed that power generation consumed 0.536 billion cubic feet per day, commercial users accounted for 0.628 billion cubic feet, and gas-based industries utilised about 0.440 billion cubic feet per day.

Several strategic gas infrastructure projects continued to advance. The Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano gas pipeline reached 79.23 per cent completion, while the OB3 River Niger crossing project stood at 59.50 per cent completion. Other projects include the Escravos-Odidi pipeline expansion at 67.34 per cent, the Odidi-Warri expansion project at 11.18 per cent, and the ELPS midline compressor project, which has reached 93 per cent completion.