Nigeria spent ₦952.15 billion on petrol imports in the second quarter of 2026, despite increased domestic supply from the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, as the refinery’s growing confrontation with fuel importers over continued foreign petrol inflows intensifies.
Data from the National Bureau of Statistics’ Foreign Trade in Goods Statistics showed that PMS imports rose from ₦87.40 billion in Q1 to ₦952.15 billion in Q2, an increase of ₦864.75 billion, or 989.4 per cent. Petrol was the country’s largest imported commodity, accounting for 6.60 per cent of the ₦14.42 trillion total import bill.
Despite the sharp quarterly increase, the Q2 import bill remained 66.4 per cent below the ₦2.83 trillion recorded in Q2 2025. The latest figures therefore point to a strong rebound in imports rather than a return to the much higher import dependence seen a year earlier.
The rebound is particularly significant because domestic refineries increased their contribution to the market during the quarter. NMDPRA data showed imported PMS supply averaged 9.23 million litres per day in Q2, down 17.8 per cent from 11.23 million litres per day in Q1, while domestic refinery supply rose 10.6 per cent from 34.57 million litres to 38.23 million litres per day.
Consequently, the share of PMS supplied by domestic refineries increased from about 75.5 per cent to 80.5 per cent, while imports fell from 24.5 per cent to 19.5 per cent. The sharp rise in the import bill, despite lower average import volumes, suggests higher international refined-product prices played a major role.
The development has intensified the disagreement between Dangote Refinery and petroleum marketers over imported petrol. Dangote recently said imported PMS accounted for about 43 per cent of fuel supplied into Nigeria in July, arguing that continued imports were creating uncertainty over domestic demand and forcing the refinery to export excess stocks.
“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.
Marketers have opposed the reported plan by Dangote to stop supplying petrol to companies that import the product, describing it as an attempt to restrict competition. They also challenged the refinery to provide evidence that imported petrol entering the Nigerian market failed to meet required quality standards.
Meanwhile, the price differential between local and imported petrol has strengthened the argument for greater reliance on domestic refining. MEMAN data showed Dangote’s gantry price at ₦1,265 per litre, compared with import-parity prices of ₦1,310.64 and ₦1,309.63 per litre under the ASPM and NPSC-NOJ benchmarks respectively.
This means imported PMS was about ₦45.64 per litre more expensive under the ASPM benchmark and ₦44.63 higher under the NPSC-NOJ benchmark, even after Dangote increased its gantry price from ₦1,165 to ₦1,265 per litre.
The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria has consequently urged the Federal Government to review the continued issuance of petrol import licences. Its National Publicity Secretary, Chinedu Ukadike, said the policy had failed to deliver the expected price competition.
“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.”
At the same time, Nigeria is exporting substantial volumes of PMS. NBS data showed petrol exports rose from ₦452.48 billion in Q1 to ₦546.02 billion in Q2, with African markets accounting for about 76.3 per cent of total PMS exports and West Africa alone receiving ₦376.46 billion.
However, Nigeria still recorded a ₦406.12 billion net PMS trade deficit in Q2, with petrol imports of ₦952.15 billion exceeding exports of ₦546.02 billion. The figures highlight the continuing gap between Nigeria’s expanding domestic refining capacity and its exposure to international petrol supply and pricing.