Nigeria’s daily petrol receipts fell by 23 per cent to 38.7 million litres in September 2026, while daily consumption increased by 7 per cent to 44.4 million litres, according to the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority’s (NMDPRA) September fact sheet.
The decline in petrol receipts from 50.5 million litres per day in August occurred despite an increase in consumption from 41.5 million litres per day over the same period. The figures show that daily petrol consumption exceeded receipts by 5.7 million litres in September.
NMDPRA attributed the drop in receipts to lower volumes from both domestic sources and imports. Domestic petrol receipts fell by 21 per cent to 28.5 million litres per day, while imported volumes declined by 30 per cent to 10.2 million litres per day.
Domestic sources accounted for 74 per cent of total petrol receipts during the month, while imports contributed the remaining 26 per cent. The regulator also reported that approved import permit volumes were being exhausted, contributing to the reduction in imported petrol receipts.
Despite the decline in receipts, daily petrol consumption rose to 44.4 million litres, against the report’s benchmark demand of 50 million litres per day. This placed consumption 5.6 million litres below the benchmark, although it was higher than the August level.
The difference between receipts and consumption coincided with a modest improvement in national petrol stock cover. The report recorded 23.9 days of stock cover in September, up from 22.9 days in August. However, stocks remained 6.1 days below the regulatory benchmark of 30 days.
The report noted that petrol stock cover had increased for four consecutive months but remained below the 30-day benchmark since March 2026. The September position therefore showed an improvement in inventory cover without eliminating the shortfall.
Dangote Petroleum Refinery remained a major contributor to domestic refining activity. NMDPRA reported average capacity utilisation of 105.98 per cent against the refinery’s installed capacity of 650,000 barrels per day. Estimated crude processing averaged approximately 689,000 barrels per day, compared with crude receipts of 618,000 barrels per day, with the difference covered by withdrawals from refinery inventories.
The refinery produced an average of 47.22 million litres of petrol per day in September. Domestic petrol receipts were recorded at 28.50 million litres per day, while exports averaged 15.47 million litres per day. The refinery added an average of 3.25 million litres to petrol stocks daily, with closing stocks reaching 366.2 million litres.
These refinery figures distinguish production from the volumes received into Nigeria’s domestic market. Although Dangote produced more petrol than the volume recorded as domestic receipts, part of its output was exported, while another portion was added to inventories.
The wider downstream market also recorded lower receipts for other major fuels. Diesel receipts fell by 40 per cent to 8.7 million litres per day, the lowest level in 13 months, while consumption rose by 1 per cent to 14.5 million litres per day. Aviation fuel receipts increased by 6 per cent to 3.3 million litres per day, and consumption rose by 7 per cent to 3.0 million litres.
For petrol, the central finding in NMDPRA’s September report is the simultaneous decline in daily receipts and increase in consumption. Receipts fell to 38.7 million litres per day as consumption climbed to 44.4 million litres, while stock cover improved to 23.9 days but remained below the 30-day benchmark.