• Dangote refinery hits 106% production capacity in September
•Nigeria supplies 80.4% of feedstock intake by local facilities
• Indigenous refiners get 618,000 bpd oil, down 9%
•Diesel supply slumps to lowest level in 13 months
Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja
Nigeria’s daily petrol supply fell 23 per cent in September despite the Dangote Petroleum Refinery operating above its installed capacity, as declining domestic deliveries and imports coincided with higher petrol prices, which exceeded N1,400 per litre in some cities.
The September 2026 factsheet of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) released yesterday showed that total petrol receipts dropped from 50.5 million litres per day in August to 38.7 million litres, although consumption rose 7 per cent to 44.4 million litres daily.
Besides, local petrol receipts declined 21 per cent, from 35.9 million litres to 28.5 million litres per day, while imports fell 30 per cent, from 14.6 million litres to 10.2 million litres.
The figures mean that the Nigerian market received 11.8 million fewer litres of petrol daily in September than in August. The decline occurred despite a 13 per cent increase in petrol production at the Dangote refinery, which raised its average daily output from 41.94 million litres in August to 47.22 million litres in September.
The refinery’s average capacity utilisation also rose from 105.21 per cent to 105.98 per cent, above its installed capacity of 650,000 barrels per day. Yet, the volume of petrol it supplied to the domestic market fell by about a fifth, while exports increased.
According to the document, Dangote supplied an average of 28.5 million litres of petrol daily to the domestic market in September, compared with 10.2 million litres from imports. Its recorded domestic deliveries were therefore almost 2.8 times the volume of imported petrol.
Also, in August, domestic deliveries from the refinery stood at 35.87 million litres per day, against imports of 14.6 million litres. Although local refining remained the dominant source, its share of total petrol receipts rose from 71 per cent in August to about 74 per cent in September because imports declined more sharply.
The refinery exported 15.47 million litres of petrol daily in September, up 59 per cent from 9.73 million litres in August. It also added 3.25 million litres per day to its petrol stocks, closing the month with 366.2 million litres, compared with 360.4 million litres at the end of August.
The figures showed that higher production did not translate into increased domestic deliveries. While output increased, local supplies fell as exports rose and stocks accumulated.
The fall in market receipts came amid high fuel retail prices. The NMDPRA’s indicative petrol price stood at N1,371.01 per litre in Lagos, N1,420.01 in Abuja, N1,447.75 in Kano and N1,464.75 in Maiduguri. The highest actual price recorded in the surveyed centres was N1,445 per litre in Abuja, while the lowest was N1,293.75 in Lagos.
Beyond finished products, the report showed that domestic refineries received an average of 618,000 barrels of crude oil daily in September, down 9 per cent from 681,000 barrels per day in August.
Nevertheless, Dangote processed an estimated 689,000 barrels daily, about 71,000 barrels above the volume received during the month. The regulator explained that the refinery made up the difference by drawing on its crude inventory. Its reported utilisation above 100 per cent therefore did not mean it received more crude in September.
Similarly, the authority’s nine-month data showed that local refineries received 156.51 million barrels of crude between January and September. Of this, 125.85 million barrels were sourced domestically and 30.66 million barrels imported, meaning Nigerian crude accounted for 80.4 per cent of the total intake, while imported crude represented 19.6 per cent.
The supply squeeze was more pronounced in the diesel market, where daily receipts fell 40 per cent, from 14.5 million litres in August to 8.7 million litres in September, the lowest level in the 13 months covered by the regulator’s data.
According to the factsheet, domestic diesel receipts dropped 39 per cent, from 13.2 million litres to 8.1 million litres daily, while imports fell 54 per cent, from 1.3 million litres to 600,000 litres, although consumption edged up from 14.3 million litres to 14.5 million litres per day.
Dangote’s diesel production, however, increased 35 per cent to 24.32 million litres per day. Domestic deliveries fell from 12.37 million litres in August to 8.14 million litres in September, while exports rose 82 per cent, from 8.75 million litres to 15.91 million litres daily. The refinery ended September with 232.5 million litres of diesel in stock, against 137.2 million litres a month earlier.
The NMDPRA report showed that among modular refineries, Walter Smith operated at 62.25 per cent capacity utilisation, Edo at 104.24 per cent, Aradel at 31.90 per cent and OPAC at 18.43 per cent, while Duport was shut down. Their combined diesel supply was 620,000 litres per day, equivalent to 4.3 per cent of national consumption.
Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) commonly known as cooking gas, recorded a more favourable trend. Daily receipts rose 9 per cent to 4.7 kilotonnes in September, with domestic supply increasing 50 per cent to 4.5 kilotonnes and imports falling 85 per cent to 0.2 kilotonnes.
In the same vein, domestic sources accounted for about 96 per cent of receipts, although consumption rose 8 per cent to 5.2 kilotonnes daily.
In the gas sector, total average daily supply, including volumes supplied to Nigeria LNG Limited, declined 2.2 per cent to 4.822 billion cubic feet in September. Domestic gas supply fell 6.7 per cent to 2.066 billion cubic feet daily, while supply to NLNG rose 1.5 per cent to 2.756 bcf.