Abuja – The Federal Government has announced that Nigeria’s daily petrol consumption has declined to 50 million litres, with local refineries now supplying nearly half of the nation’s demand.
The remainder is being sourced through importation, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) disclosed on Wednesday.
Addressing journalists after a stakeholders’ meeting in Abuja, the Executive Director of Distribution Systems, Storage and Retailing Infrastructure at NMDPRA, Mr. Ogbugo Ukoha, explained that the importation of petrol remains necessary to prevent fuel scarcity.
“Let me speak a little bit about supply. All of us have experienced a yuletide free of any scarcity, and let me reconfirm that from year to year, we saw an increase in the demand for PMS by 2021, 2022, up to 2023 just before the current administration came in,” Ukoha stated.
“The daily PMS supply sufficiency was always more than 60 million litres, in fact averaging about 66 million litres per day. However, following Mr. President’s withdrawal of subsidy on May 29, 2023, we immediately saw a steep decline in consumption, and since then, we’ve continued to record an average of 50 million litres per day.”
Ukoha further clarified that none of the companies involved in domestic refining are currently engaged in petrol importation. He emphasized that in line with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), any shortfall in domestic refining is met through imports.
In a related development, the NMDPRA has announced a ban on the use of 60,000-litre capacity tankers for the transportation of petrol and other petroleum products, effective from March 1, 2025.
This decision has sparked protests from truck owners, who argue that the ban will significantly impact their investments.
The National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) had earlier warned that the policy could lead to financial losses exceeding N300 billion.
The association revealed that over 2,000 units of 60,000-litre capacity trucks are currently in operation, forming a critical part of the petroleum transportation network across the country.
Despite these concerns, Ukoha defended the ban, citing safety risks associated with the large tankers.
“The decision to phase out 60,000-litre tankers was taken in response to the increasing number of petrol tanker fires in the country. Many of these incidents have been linked to the high volume of fuel carried by these large-capacity trucks,” he explained.
The move is part of broader government efforts to enhance safety and efficiency in the downstream sector. Stakeholders in the petroleum and transport industries are expected to engage in further discussions to address concerns arising from the policy shift.
As Nigeria continues its transition towards improved local refining and regulatory reforms in the petroleum sector, the impact of these measures on fuel availability, transportation, and economic stability remains to be seen.
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