Nigeria’s growing refining capacity has not yet ended the country’s reliance on imported petrol, as fresh data shows that foreign fuel supplies increased in July while deliveries from domestic refineries fell sharply.
The latest July 2026 data on Nigeria’s midstream and downstream petroleum sector showed that domestic petrol supply dropped by 21 per cent, while petrol imports increased by nine per cent within one month.
Total daily petrol receipts also declined from 50.6 million litres in June to 45.5 million litres in July, representing a 10 per cent fall.
The biggest change came from the source of the fuel. Domestic refineries supplied an average of 32.5 million litres of petrol per day in June, but this dropped to 25.8 million litres per day in July.
Meanwhile, imported petrol increased from 18.1 million litres daily to 19.7 million litres daily.
The figures show that although locally refined petrol remained the larger source of supply, imports are once again taking a bigger role in meeting Nigeria’s fuel needs.
This comes after a sharp increase in petrol imports in June, when imports jumped by 207 per cent as domestic supply weakened. The continued increase in July suggests that the country’s transition away from imported fuel remains vulnerable to changes in local refinery output.
One major factor behind the July decline was crude supply to domestic refineries. Crude oil receipts fell from 632,000 barrels per day in June to 585,000 barrels per day in July, an eight per cent reduction.
The development highlights a key challenge for Nigeria: having refining capacity is not enough if refineries cannot consistently access sufficient crude oil.
The Dangote Petroleum Refinery remained an important part of the domestic supply chain, operating at more than 71 per cent average capacity utilisation during the period.
Its average petrol production stood at approximately 25.9 million litres per day, almost matching the 25.8 million litres per day recorded as total domestic petrol receipts.
However, the July figures also show that Nigeria’s fuel market is still exposed to supply disruptions. Whenever domestic production falls, imported products can quickly become necessary to fill the gap.
The same trend appeared in the diesel market. Daily Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) receipts rose by 46 per cent, from 16.2 million litres in June to 23.6 million litres in July.
Domestic diesel supply slipped slightly to 15.7 million litres per day, while imports returned with 7.9 million litres daily after no imported diesel was recorded in June.
Petrol consumption also declined significantly. Volumes trucked into the domestic market fell by 25 per cent, from 47.4 million litres daily in June to 35.7 million litres in July.
Meanwhile, petrol stock sufficiency improved from 19.7 days to 22.4 days, meaning available inventories could cover demand for a longer period.
Nigeria recorded a different picture in the cooking gas market. LPG receipts increased to 5.3 kilotonnes per day, while domestic LPG supply jumped 22 per cent and imports fell by 40 per cent.
The July data therefore presents a mixed picture: Nigeria is producing more fuel locally than it did in the past, but domestic refining has not yet become consistent enough to completely eliminate imports.
For the country, the bigger challenge now is ensuring steady crude supply and reliable refinery operations so that local production can consistently meet domestic demand.
