The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reports that the importation of petrol, officially known as Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), has fallen by a considerable 3.5 billion litres in the last twelve months.
The latest statistics on petroleum product distribution, released by the NBS on Tuesday, reveal that total petrol imports fell to 20.30 billion litres in 2023, down from 23.54 billion litres in 2022. This represents a year-on-year decline of 13.77%.
The NBS further indicated that petrol imports decreased by 3.58 billion litres in the latter half of 2023 compared to the first half of the year.
Specifically, 8.36 billion litres of PMS were imported during the second half, a marked reduction from the 11.94 billion litres recorded in the first half, amounting to a 29.99% drop.
The report noted that in 2023, PMS truck outs reached 20.22 billion litres, indicating a 16.96% decrease from the 24.35 billion litres reported in 2022.
In terms of imports, the 20.30 billion litres of petrol brought in for the year signifies a 13.77% decline relative to the previous year. The downward trend becomes more pronounced when compared to the latter half of 2022.
In the second half of 2022, petrol imports totalled 11.98 billion litres, reflecting a substantial 30.22% decrease compared to the same period in 2023, equivalent to a reduction of 3.62 billion litres.
A month-by-month breakdown of fuel imports in 2023 indicates fluctuating volumes: January saw 2.09 billion litres, February 1.99 billion, March 2.29 billion, April 1.91 billion, and May 2.01 billion. Subsequent months recorded 1.64 billion in June, 1.45 billion in July, 1.09 billion in August, 1.21 billion in September, 1.16 billion in October, 1.55 billion in November, and 1.88 billion in December, underscoring a trend of declining consumption throughout the country.
In a related note, the NBS reported that the volume of Automotive Gas Oil (AGO), or diesel, imported into Nigeria rose to 4.94 billion litres in 2023, up from four billion litres in 2022.
The data also highlighted a domestic production of 109.39 million litres of AGO in 2023, reflecting a 6.76% increase from the 102.47 million litres produced the previous year.
Additionally, local production of Household Kerosene reached 69.71 million litres in 2023, compared to 44.68 million litres in 2022, marking a remarkable growth rate of 56.02%.
For Automotive Gas Oil, local production increased by 6.76%, while imports rose by 23.66% compared to the previous year, with 4.94 billion litres imported in 2023.
