The Federal Government announced on Wednesday that Nigeria’s petrol consumption has decreased to 50 million litres per day, with local refineries providing half of the daily requirements. The government stated that the remaining half is sourced through importation.
It was clarified that none of the domestic refining companies had any involvement in the importation. Speaking to press following a stakeholders meeting in Abuja, NMDPRA’s Executive Director, Distribution Systems, Storage, and Retailing Infrastructure, Mr. Ogbugo Ukoha, stated that petrol importation had become imperative to prevent scarcity from returning to the downstream sector.
“Let me talk a little about supply. We’ve all had a holiday season free of scarcity, and let me simply reiterate that the demand for PMS increased year after year from 2021 and 2022 until 2023, right before the current administration took office.
The daily PMS supply sufficiency was always greater than 60 million, with an average of approximately 66 million each day. And following Mr. President’s withdrawal of subsidies, which was announced on May 29th, 2023, we immediately noticed a dramatic decrease in consumption, and we’ve continued to do so plus or minus 50 million.
“Of these 50 million litres, averaging for each day, less than 50% of that is contributed by domestic refineries, and so the shortfall in accordance with the PIA (Petroleum Industry Act) is sourced by way of imports” .
Ukoha also stated that the administration has prohibited 60,000-litre tankers from delivering petrol and other petroleum products commencing March 1, 2025. The prohibition was imposed by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), despite truck owners’ concerns.
The National Association of Road Transport Owners, or NARTO, warned last week that the ban would cost them more than N300 billion, which they had invested in purchasing over 2,000 60,000-litre capacity trucks that are now used to transport petroleum products throughout the country.
According to Ukoha, tankers with 60,000 litres capacity were responsible for some of the recent increase in petrol tanker fires in the country. Ukoha also stated that the high-calibre tankers have a significant impact on the condition of Nigerian roads. He stated, “The breaking news is that in today’s meeting, which included DSS, FEMA, Federal Fire Service, Road Safety, NATO, NUPENG, MEMAN, PETROAN, IPMAN, DAPMAN, SON, and ONSA, it was decided that beginning March 1st, any truck with an axle load carrying more than 60,000 litres of hydrocarbon will not be allowed to load at any loading depot.
“Let me repeat: effective March 1st, trucks having a capacity of more than 60,000 litres will be prohibited from loading petroleum products at any loading depot. By the fourth quarter of 2025, we will also prohibit the loading or transportation of petroleum products on any truck that holds more than 45,000 litres. So that’s the breaking news for today.
