Nigeria’s daily petrol imports rose by about nine per cent to nearly 20 million litres in July, as the country’s overall Premium Motor Spirit supply fell by 10 per cent, according to the July 2026 data of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority.
The latest figures show that average daily petrol supply declined from 50.6 million litres in June to 45.5 million litres in July, representing a drop of about 5.1 million litres, or 10 per cent. At the same time, imports increased from 18.1 million litres per day to about 19.7 million litres, an increase of 1.6 million litres, or 8.8 per cent.
The July development marks a further shift towards imported petrol to bridge the widening gap in domestic supply. Domestic PMS receipts fell by about 21 per cent, from 32.5 million litres per day in June to approximately 25.8 million litres in July.
The NMDPRA data also showed a sharp reduction in the performance of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery. The refinery operated at an average 71.09 per cent capacity utilisation in July and produced 25.9 million litres of petrol daily, while 3.4 million litres were exported.
The July figures represent a significant change from June, when Dangote produced about 39.1 million litres of petrol daily, supplied 32.5 million litres to the domestic market and exported 3.3 million litres. This means its petrol production fell by about 13.2 million litres daily, or 34 per cent, between the two months.
The comparison shows that the 10 per cent decline cited by the regulator applies to total national petrol supply, rather than Dangote’s individual supply. Dangote’s domestic petrol receipts fell by roughly 21 per cent between June and July, while imports moved in the opposite direction.
The decline in domestic supply occurred despite crude receipts by domestic refineries remaining substantial. The July NMDPRA data showed total crude receipts at 17.88 million barrels, compared with 19.12 million barrels in June, a decline of about 6.5 per cent.
The pressure on local petrol supply was partly offset by higher imports. However, overall petrol availability still declined, while daily consumption also dropped sharply by 25 per cent to 35.7 million litres in July.
Despite the weaker supply position, national petrol stock sufficiency improved from 19.7 days in June to 22.4 days in July, representing a 14 per cent increase. The figure, however, remained below the NMDPRA’s stated minimum threshold of 30 days.
The July data also showed that the three NNPCL-owned refineries Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna remained shut throughout the month, leaving the Dangote refinery as the major source of locally refined petrol while imports increasingly filled the supply gap.