THE Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has suspended the issuance of new petrol import licences, citing sufficient domestic supply from local production.
The regulator disclosed the development in its February 2026 State of the Midstream and Downstream Fact Sheet, which showed that no fresh licences were issued during the month.
Data from the report indicated that the Dangote Refinery supplied an average of 36.5 million litres of petrol per day to the domestic market in February. Imports, however, continued at a minimal level, averaging 3 million litres daily, the lowest volume recorded in the past year.
Despite the contribution from the Dangote refinery, total petrol supply for the month stood at 39.6 million litres per day, a sharp drop compared to the 64.9 million litres supplied daily in January. According to the regulator, the decline was driven by a steep fall in imports.
“PMS supply in February 2026 reduced by 25.4 million litres per day due to a significant drop in imports,” the NMDPRA said in the report.
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Commenting on the development, Spokesperson of the NMDPRA, George Ene-Ita, said the authority has deliberately held back new import licences because domestic production is currently adequate to meet demand.
“At this moment, there is no need to import because local production is meeting supply. When there is a shortfall, we will issue licensing to buffer local production,” he said.
Ene-Ita explained that the approach aligns with provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), which stipulates that petrol imports should serve as a buffer when domestic supply falls short of national consumption.
“What is happening is not strange. If you go by the dictates of the PIA, importation of PMS is meant to buffer domestic needs. If there is a shortfall, it opens the need for importation. If national production meets consumption, there is no need to import,” he added.
The regulator’s position contrasts with its stance in January 2025, when it defended the issuance of petrol import licences, arguing at the time that the Dangote refinery could not meet domestic demand.
Meanwhile, the NMDPRA said the Port Harcourt Refinery remained shut in February. However, diesel produced while the facility was previously operational continued to be evacuated, averaging 392,000 litres per day during the month.
The Kaduna Refinery also remained shut, although 27,000 litres of diesel per day were trucked to the domestic market from existing stock.
Similarly, the Warri Refinery remained inactive, with no product evacuation recorded throughout the month.
The NMDPRA added that three modular refineries, such as Waltersmith Refinery, Edo Refinery, and Aradel Refinery, supplied an average of 368,000 litres of diesel per day during the month. The regulator noted that the introduction of hydrocarbons at Waltersmith is still ongoing.
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Further data from the fact sheet showed that although Nigeria’s petrol consumption benchmark is 50 million litres per day, supply averaged 56.9 million litres daily.
The authority also reported an average daily domestic supply of 24.4 million litres of diesel and 4.77 billion standard cubic feet of natural gas.
According to the regulator, diesel consumption averaged 20.3 million litres per day, while aviation fuel consumption stood at 2.9 million litres daily.
