The Dangote Petroleum Refinery ended August 2026 with 360.4 million litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) in stock, even as Nigeria continued to import petrol during the month, according to data from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).
The development highlights the changing dynamics of Nigeria’s fuel supply market, as domestic refining increased while imported petrol continued to supplement supplies.
The NMDPRA’s August 2026 State of the Midstream and Downstream Sector factsheet showed that the Dangote refinery held a total of 630.9 million litres of refined products at the end of the month.
The inventory comprised 360.4 million litres of petrol, 137.2 million litres of Automotive Gas Oil (diesel) and 133.3 million litres of Aviation Turbine Kerosene (aviation fuel).
Despite the continued arrival of imported petrol, average daily PMS imports fell by 26 per cent in August, dropping from 19.7 million litres per day in July to 14.6 million litres.
In contrast, domestic PMS receipts increased by 39 per cent, rising from 25.8 million litres per day in July to 35.9 million litres.
The regulator said the Dangote refinery accounted for about 71 per cent of Nigeria’s total PMS receipts during the month, supplying an average of 35.87 million litres of petrol to the domestic market daily.
The refinery produced an average of 41.94 million litres of PMS per day and exported about 9.73 million litres daily. Its average capacity utilisation stood at 105.21 per cent during the month.
Despite the increase in domestic supply, imported petrol still formed part of the country’s overall fuel receipts. Total PMS receipts averaged 50.5 million litres per day in August, up 11 per cent from 45.5 million litres recorded in July.
Meanwhile, petrol consumption declined by 14 per cent, falling from 48.3 million litres per day in July to 41.5 million litres in August, based on volumes trucked into the domestic market.
The trend comes amid previous concerns raised by the Dangote refinery over continued PMS imports and the impact of unpredictable import volumes on inventory planning.
The refinery had warned that maintaining large reserves could become commercially unsustainable if substantial quantities of imported petrol continued entering the Nigerian market without sufficient visibility on future demand.
Beyond petrol, diesel imports recorded a sharp decline during August, falling by 84 per cent from 7.9 million litres per day in July to 1.3 million litres.
The NMDPRA also reported that crude oil receipts by local refineries increased by 17 per cent, from 585,000 barrels per day in July to 683,000 barrels per day in August.
Between January and August 2026, domestic refineries received 137.98 million barrels of crude feedstock, comprising 109.88 million barrels of domestic crude and 28.10 million barrels of imported seaborne crude.
However, the three state-owned refineries operated by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited in Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna recorded no production during August, according to the regulator.
