Nigeria's daily petrol imports contracted by 30.1% to 10.2 million litres in September 2026, even as domestic consumption climbed to 44.4 million litres per day, according to the latest factsheet from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).
Combined daily receipts stood at 38.7 million litres, leaving a supply shortfall of 5.7 million litres against reported consumption. Domestic petrol receipts declined by 20.6% to 28.5 million litres per day in September from 35.9 million litres in August, while imports dropped from 14.6 million litres to 10.2 million litres daily. Consumption rose by 7% from 41.5 million litres per day in August.
Total receipts covered approximately 87.2% of reported consumption in September. Petrol stock cover improved marginally from 22.9 days to 23.9 days but remained below the regulator's 30-day benchmark, indicating that lower imports were accompanied by weaker domestic supply.
Import volumes fluctuated sharply between January and September. Daily imports fell from 24.8 million litres in January to 3.0 million litres in February, recovered to 5.9 million litres in March, declined to 3.7 million litres in April, and rose to 5.9 million litres in May. Imports then climbed to 18.1 million litres per day in June and peaked at 19.7 million litres in July before declining over the following two months. September's import volume was 48.2% below the July peak.
Domestic supplies followed a different trajectory, rising from 40.1 million litres per day in January to a high of 41.5 million litres in May, then falling to 32.5 million litres in June and 25.8 million litres in July before recovering in August and declining again in September.
On import costs, Nairametrics previously reported that Nigeria's petrol import bill rose by 989.4% quarter-on-quarter to N952.15 billion in the second quarter of 2026 from N87.40 billion in the first quarter. The oil refining sector recorded year-on-year growth of 43.94% in the second quarter. The Dangote refinery's crude oil distillation capacity increased from 650,000 barrels per day to 700,000 barrels per day after maintenance and expansion work completed in February 2026.
Nigeria's petrol import bill fell to $10 billion in 2025 from $14.06 billion in 2024. In 2024, import costs spiked 105.3% to N15.42 trillion, the highest on record, driven largely by a 40.9% depreciation of the naira.
