The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), and the independent marketers has imported 182.9 million litres of Premium Motor Spirit.
This represent a significant increase of 59.5 per cent over the 111 million litres importNNPC, Others Import 182.9m Litres as Petrol Imports Soar 59.5%ed in April.
According to statistics from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), the importation represented just 12 per cent out of the total 1.46 billion litres of petrol that was distributed in Nigeria within the month.
Dangote Petroleum Refinery supplied the rest 88 per cent, representing 1.28 billion litres. It produced an average of 44.7 million litres of fuel per day while supplying about 41.5 million litres daily to the domestic market.
On the other hand, NNPC Limited’s refineries continued to be shut.
In addition to this, it was revealed that 15.84 billion barrels of crude oil have been received by the Dangote refinery whereas 2.08 billion barrels were exported.
In terms of usage, Nigerians consumed a total amount of 1.38 billion liters of petrol in May, thus making daily usage equal to 46 million liters of petrol.
The spike in imports occurred at a time when there exists a legal battle between Dangote Petroleum Refinery and the Federal Government regarding granting licenses for fuel importation.
Dangote Refinery has gone ahead to approach the Federal High Court in Lagos, where it has stated that continuous granting of fuel import licenses violates the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
But the NNPCL stated that limiting the importation of fuel would put the country at the risk of having supply problems, unstable prices, and more energy insecurity issues. NNPCL argued that the energy regulator was operating within its legal mandate to ensure that the imports continue.
Meanwhile, the Dangote refinery argues that continued importation hinders local refinery operations and investments in the industry.
According to Aliko Dangote, president of the Dangote Group, vested interests in fuel importation are trying to hinder the efforts of the refinery because the refinery is supposed to stop Nigeria from being a fuel importer and suffer from fuel scarcity.
