Africa’s largest oil refinery says rising petrol imports into its home market are forcing it to send more of its production abroad, adding a new twist to Nigeria’s rapidly changing fuel trade.
The Dangote Petroleum Refinery said significant volumes of imported petrol entering Nigeria have made domestic demand increasingly difficult to predict, leaving the $20 billion facility with excess inventory that it must either store or sell overseas.
The company said imported Premium Motor Spirit, commonly known as petrol, accounted for about 43% of Nigeria’s supply in July. Official figures support that estimate.
Data from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority show imports averaged 19.7 million litres per day in July, while total petrol supply stood at 45.5 million litres per day.
That means imports accounted for roughly 43.3% of supply during the month. Domestic refineries supplied the remaining 25.8 million litres per day.
