Dangote petrol supply rises as Nigeria’s imports fall to 1.31bn litres in December 2025

Nigeria imported approximately 1.31 billion litres of petrol in December 2025, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has reported, marking a notable decline from November’s 1.57 billion litres.

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The reduction reflects a growing contribution from domestic refining, particularly the Dangote refinery, which supplied 992 million litres during the month.

Total petrol supply in December averaged 74.2 million litres per day, with imports accounting for 42.2 million litres daily, while Dangote contributed 32 million litres per day.

By comparison, November’s daily supply stood at 71.5 million litres, comprising 52.1 million litres from imports and 19.5 million litres from the refinery.

The increase in domestic supply coincided with seasonal demand pressures during the Yuletide, pushing total supply from 2.15 billion litres in November to 2.3 billion litres in December.

Despite this, some marketers continue to rely heavily on imported petrol.

Aliko Dangote, President of the Dangote Group, accused the former NMDPRA Chief Executive, Farouk Ahmed, of issuing “reckless licences” for fuel importation while his refinery tanks were full, claiming that such actions undermined the economy.

“They are now ready to issue licences for about 7.5 billion litres for the first quarter of 2026, despite the fact that we have guaranteed to supply enough quantity,” Dangote said.

In December, Dangote disrupted the market by reducing petrol prices from roughly N900 to N739 per litre, absorbing losses to discourage excessive importation and ensure affordability during the festive season.

David Bird, Managing Director of the Dangote refinery, disclosed that the plant had commenced 24-hour loading operations to meet daily demand above 50 million litres.

“We’re already doing nighttime loading. So it’s a 24-hour operation. We have celebrated over 50 million litres of offtake, which means over a thousand trucks progressing through the gate and through the gantry,” Bird said.

While Dangote’s ex-depot price remained at N699 per litre, the landing cost of imported petrol fluctuated between N750 and N780, making it challenging for importers to compete.

MEMAN noted that the recent reduction in landing cost to N754.96 still left a price gap of about N44 compared with Dangote-backed filling stations.

The NMDPRA justified fuel import licences earlier in the year due to shortages in September and October 2025, when domestic supply from Dangote’s refinery and NNPC could not meet national demand.