Nigeria imports 123.4M litres of petrol to address fuel shortages

Four vessels carrying Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, arrived at Nigerian seaports between Friday, October 18, and Sunday, October 20, delivering 123.4 million litres of fuel to address fuel shortages.

According to documents obtained from the Nigerian Ports Authority, the shipments, aimed at addressing fuel shortages and boosting fuel supply across the country, docked at the Apapa Port in Lagos and the Calabar Port in Cross River State.

This move follows concerns over the current output of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, which is producing 10 million litres of petrol daily—significantly below its promised capacity of 25 million litres.

As a result, oil marketers have resorted to importing additional fuel to bridge the supply gap and meet domestic demand. The latest imports confirm reports that dealers are stepping up efforts to supplement the supply from the refinery.

The four shipments, comprising 92,000 metric tonnes of petrol, arrived at the two ports over the weekend. The first vessel, carrying 35,000 metric tonnes, berthed at the ASPM jetty in Apapa at 10:13 a.m. on Friday, followed by two other vessels at the same terminal later that day. The final shipment arrived at the Eco Marine terminal in Calabar on Sunday.

George Ene-Ita, spokesperson for the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), confirmed that the imported fuel must undergo rigorous testing before being distributed to the market.

“The products must meet our testing protocols at the ports and conform to stipulated standards before they can be offloaded,” he said. He emphasized that the agency will ensure the fuel meets safety and quality requirements before it is released for public use.

These imports are seen as critical in addressing the fuel shortages that have recently affected Nigeria, especially with fluctuations in the pump prices of locally-produced petrol. With the new shipments, it is expected that fuel availability will improve in the coming weeks.