The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited and Dangote Refinery imported a total of 38,000 barrels per day of petrol in May 2026 as the country returned actively to the importation of the fuel.
According to a report by Argus, gasoline (petrol) deliveries to Nigeria were a four-month high of 57,000 barrels a day in the review month.
This came after import permits were issued for the second quarter and market participants flagged maintenance works at independently-owned Dangote’s 700,000 barrels per day Lekki refinery.
The platform reported that petrol exports from Nigeria were 23,000 barrels per day, of which Dangote carried out 65 per cent of the product at 15,000 barrels per day.
This meant Nigeria returned to net gasoline importer status in the month, after net exporting 49,000 barrels per day in April and 6,000 barrels per day in March, citing Kpler data.
The sole destination of all Nigeria’s petrol imports in May came from Europe. A breakdown showed that Nigeria got 37 per cent (21,000 barrels per day) from Norway, Italy provided 16 per cent (9,000 barrels per day), and France covered 14 per cent (8,000 barrels per day).
Out of the 57,000 barrels per day of product brought into the country, Dangote Refinery bought 27,000 barrels per day while the state-owned NNPC brought in 11,000 per day.
Argus, citing Kpler, said the buyer or buyers of the remaining 19,000 barrels per day. These were likely independent marketers who were issued import licenses during the month.
This means Dangote remains the top petrol producer and importer in the country. The refinery owner brought in 29,000 barrels per day of the 67,000 barrels per day total petrol imports in January-May.
According to the Argus report, Nigerian petrol imports have been elevated so far in June, with license holders likely to exercise their allocations before expiry at month-end. AA Rano has landed 56,000 barrels per day, and NNPC has imported 121,000 barrels per day. The 177,000 barrels per day of petrol cargo arrivals in June to date are three times higher than in May and up from 140,000 barrels per day in June 2025.
SOURCE: businesspost.ng