Nigeria’s reliance on imported total Premium Motor Spirit, commonly known as petrol, showed further signs of a rebound in July as supplies from domestic refineries fell sharply, increasing the contribution of foreign imports despite the country’s growing refining capacity.
The latest statistics on Nigeria’s midstream and downstream petroleum operations for July 2026, published on Monday, showed that domestic petrol supply declined by 21 per cent month-on-month, while petrol imports increased by nine per cent.
The factsheet showed that total petrol receipts fell from 50.6 million litres per day in June to 45.5 million litres per day in July, representing a 10 per cent decline.
The drop was driven largely by a sharp reduction in domestic refinery supplies.
Refineries supplied 32.5 million litres of petrol daily in June, but this fell to 25.8 million litres per day in July.
Meanwhile, petrol imports increased from 18.1 million litres per day in June to 19.7 million litres per day in July, pointing to a greater reliance on foreign supplies to meet domestic demand.
The report read, “Total PMS daily receipts fell by 10 per cent from 50.6 million litres per day in June to 45.5 million litres per day in July. The decline was driven by a 21 per cent drop in domestic supplies, which fell from 32.5 million litres per day to 25.8 million litres per day, even as petrol imports rose by nine per cent from 18.1 million litres per day to 19.7 million litres per day.”
The figures indicate that although locally refined petrol remained the dominant source of supply, imported fuel accounted for a growing share of the market in July as domestic production weakened.
The trend marked a continuation of the reversal that began in June, when petrol imports surged by 207 per cent to 18.1 million litres per day, while domestic supply fell by 22 per cent to 32.5 million litres daily. In July, local supply declined further to 25.8 million litres per day, while imports rose to 19.7 million litres, highlighting the growing role of imported petrol as domestic refinery output weakened.
The shift occurred as crude oil receipts by domestic refineries fell from 632,000 barrels per day in June to 585,000 barrels per day in July, representing an eight per cent decline.
The reduction in crude supply coincided with a 21 per cent drop in domestic petrol receipts, highlighting the strong link between the availability of refinery feedstock and Nigeria’s efforts to reduce its dependence on imported fuel.
Despite being one of Africa’s leading crude oil producers, Nigeria relied heavily on imported refined petroleum products for years due to the poor performance of its state-owned refineries.
