The Dangote Petroleum Refinery ended August with 630.9 million litres of refined petroleum products in stock as Nigeria’s average daily petrol imports fell by 26 per cent, highlighting the refinery’s growing role in domestic fuel supply even as imported petrol remains part of the market.
The figures are contained in the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority’s (NMDPRA) August 2026 State of the Midstream and Downstream Sector factsheet. The refinery’s closing inventory comprised 360.4 million litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), 137.2 million litres of automotive gas oil (diesel) and 133.3 million litres of aviation turbine kerosene.
Petrol imports averaged 14.6 million litres per day in August, down from 19.7 million litres per day in July. At the same time, domestic PMS receipts increased 39 per cent to 35.9 million litres per day from 25.8 million litres, according to the regulator.
That shift meant domestically sourced petrol exceeded imported volumes by 21.3 million litres per day during August. Total PMS receipts, however, increased 11 per cent to 50.5 million litres per day from 45.5 million litres in July, indicating that the decline in imports was accompanied by a larger increase in local supply.
The Dangote refinery was the main contributor to that increase. It supplied an average of 35.87 million litres of petrol to the domestic market each day, equivalent to about 71 per cent of Nigeria’s total PMS receipts during the month. The refinery produced an average of 41.94 million litres of PMS daily and exported another 9.73 million litres per day.
The refinery operated at an average capacity utilisation of 105.21 per cent in August. Its output extended beyond petrol, with average daily production of 18.01 million litres of diesel and 24.48 million litres of aviation fuel.
Despite the increase in domestic supply, petrol imports have not disappeared. The continued inflow is particularly significant because petrol consumption, measured by volumes trucked into the domestic market, fell 14 per cent from 48.3 million litres per day in July to 41.5 million litres in August. Petrol stock sufficiency consequently improved slightly from 22.4 days to 22.9 days.
The inventory position also comes against the backdrop of Dangote Refinery’s earlier concerns about holding large volumes of petrol while imported products continue to enter Nigeria. The refinery had warned that uncertainty over import volumes could make inventory planning more difficult and said surplus products could ultimately be exported if they could not be absorbed by the domestic market.
The broader refining picture is also changing. Crude oil receipts by domestic refineries rose 17 per cent in August to 683,000 barrels per day from 585,000 barrels per day in July. Between January and August, domestic refineries received 137.98 million barrels of feedstock, with domestic crude accounting for 79.64 per cent of the total.
However, the increase in domestic refining was not shared equally across the sector. NMDPRA reported that the Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna refineries operated by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited recorded no production during August.
For Nigeria’s downstream market, the August figures point to a changing supply structure: local refineries are providing a larger share of petrol while imports continue to supplement supply. The next issue for the market will be whether domestic production can consistently absorb demand and reduce reliance on imported fuel without creating excess inventories at local refineries.
