Nigeria’s importation of petroleum motor spirit aka gasoline or petrol has now dropped to its lowest in about 8 years.
This has been attributed to increased production by Dangote Refinery, as it ramps up production and is consequently pushing out foreign suppliers.
According to a Bloomberg report, from 01 to 24 January to 2025, shipments of fuel into Nigeria was about 110,000 barrels per day, based on data compiled from analytics firm Vortexa Ltd.
This is the lowest since 2017 when imports used to be above 200,000 barrels per day, and sometimes as high as above 400,000 bpd.
Experts say the Dangote Refinery, which has the highest refining capacity in Africa and Europe has disrupted global oil trade and pushed some refineries in Europe out of the market.
Even though it is not operating up to its full capacity yet, Dangote Refinery is boosting Nigeria’s fuel independence by reducing imports.
“A large part of the slowdown in Nigeria’s gasoline imports is due to the ramp-up of the Dangote refinery. Northwest Europe will have to find alternative homes for its gasoline supplies,” Vortexa analyst Samantha Hartke told Bloomberg.
