Nigeria’s petrol supply market shifted further towards domestic refining in August, even as the Dangote Petroleum Refinery ended the month with 630.9 million litres of refined petroleum products in stock.

Data from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) showed that the refinery’s closing inventory included 360.4 million litres of petrol, 137.2 million litres of diesel and 133.3 million litres of aviation fuel.

At the same time, petrol imports continued to decline. Average daily PMS imports fell by 26 per cent, from 19.7 million litres in July to 14.6 million litres in August. Domestic petrol receipts moved in the opposite direction, rising by 39 per cent, from 25.8 million litres per day to 35.9 million litres.

That meant domestic supply accounted for about 71 per cent of Nigeria’s total petrol receipts during the month, compared with roughly 29 per cent from imports. The Dangote refinery alone supplied 35.87 million litres of petrol to the domestic market each day.

The refinery produced an average of 41.94 million litres of petrol daily in August, while also exporting about 9.73 million litres per day. Its average capacity utilisation stood at 105.21 per cent during the month.

The shift was not limited to petrol. Diesel imports dropped sharply by 84 per cent, falling from 7.9 million litres per day in July to 1.3 million litres in August.

Meanwhile, Nigeria’s total petrol receipts increased by 11 per cent to 50.5 million litres per day, even though reported petrol consumption fell by 14 per cent from 48.3 million litres to 41.5 million litres per day. Petrol stock sufficiency also improved slightly, from 22.4 days in July to 22.9 days in August.

The increase in local refining also came alongside higher crude receipts by domestic refineries. NMDPRA reported that crude oil receipts rose by 17 per cent, from 585,000 barrels per day in July to 683,000 barrels per day in August. However, the figures also highlight a tension in Nigeria’s changing fuel market.

While domestic refining supplied the majority of petrol received during August, imported petrol continued to enter the country as the Dangote refinery held significant volumes in storage. The refinery had previously raised concerns that continued imports could make inventory planning more difficult and had indicated that excess products could be exported if they could not be absorbed by the domestic market.

The latest figures therefore point to a market that is gradually changing, but has not completely moved away from imported fuel.