Abuja confirms daily import of 25m litres of fuel as local refineries meet only half of demand
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Abuja has confirmed that although fuel consumption has dropped to 50 million litres per day, half that quantity is still being imported daily because output by Dangote and other local refineries only meets 50 per cent of requirements.
But the government clarified that no company involved in domestic refining is involved in importation.
Ogbugo Ukoha, the Executive Director, Distribution Systems, Storage and Retailing Infrastructure, Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory AuthorityN (NMDPRA), disclosed after a stakeholders’ meeting in Abuja that petrol importation is necessary to stave off scarcity returning to the market.
“Let me speak a little bit about supply. All of us have experienced a Yuletide free of any scarcity and let me just reconfirm that from year to year we saw an increase in the demand of PMS by 2021, 2022 up to 2023 just before the current administration came in,” he said.
“The daily PMS supply sufficiency was always in excess of 60 million, in fact averaging about 66 million a day for PMS.
“And following Mr. President’s withdrawal of subsidy, the announcement on May 29, 2023, we immediately saw a steep decline in consumption and between then and as we speak, we’ve continued to do plus or minus 50 million.
“Of these 50 million litres averaging for each day, less than 50 per cent of that is contributed by domestic refineries and so the shortfall in accordance with the PIA (Petroleum Industry Act) is sourced by way of imports.”
Ukoha also disclosed that the NMDPRA has banned 60,000-litre capacity tankers from transporting petrol and other petroleum products beginning March 1, 2025.
The ban was imposed despite protest from truck owners.
The National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) last week warned that the ban would cost them over N300 billion invested in procuring more than 2,000 units of 60,000-litre capacity trucks currently transporting petroleum products across the country.
Ukoha said tankers with 60,000-litre capacity are responsible for some of the recent spike in petrol tanker fires North and South, adding that such high calibre tankers also have a major negative impact on roads.
“The breaking news about that today is that in today’s meeting comprising DSS, FEMA, Federal Fire Service, Road Safety, NATO, NUPENG, MEMAN, PETROAN, IPMAN, DAPMAN, SON, ONSA, it was decided that beginning 1st March, any truck with an axle load that is carrying more than 60,000 litres of hydrocarbon will not be allowed to load at any loading depot.
“Let me repeat, beginning 1st March, trucks with a capacity in excess of 60,000 litres will not be allowed to load in any loading depot for petroleum products.
“By Q4 of 2025, we will also preclude the loading or transportation of petroleum products on any truck in excess of 45,000 litres. So that is the breaking news for today.”
Read also:
