Nigeria’s daily petrol supply fell by 23 per cent in September 2026 despite increased production at the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, as domestic deliveries and imports declined while fuel prices exceeded N1,400 per litre in some cities.
The September factsheet of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) showed that daily petrol receipts dropped from 50.5 million litres in August to 38.7 million litres in September, even as consumption rose seven per cent to 44.4 million litres.
Domestic receipts fell 21 per cent from 35.9 million litres to 28.5 million litres daily, while imports declined 30 per cent from 14.6 million litres to 10.2 million litres.
The drop came despite a 13 per cent increase in the Dangote refinery’s average daily petrol production, which rose from 41.94 million litres to 47.22 million litres. Its capacity utilisation also increased to 105.98 per cent, above its installed capacity of 650,000 barrels per day.
However, the refinery’s domestic petrol deliveries declined from 35.87 million litres daily in August to 28.5 million litres in September, while exports surged 59 per cent to 15.47 million litres per day.
The refinery also added 3.25 million litres of petrol daily to its stocks, ending September with 366.2 million litres, compared with 360.4 million litres in August.
Read Also: ncdmb-identifies-18-nigerian-firms-for-oil-gas-equipment-manufacturing
The supply decline coincided with elevated retail prices. The NMDPRA’s indicative petrol prices stood at N1,371.01 per litre in Lagos, N1,420.01 in Abuja, N1,447.75 in Kano and N1,464.75 in Maiduguri.
Meanwhile, domestic refineries received an average of 618,000 barrels of crude oil daily in September, down from 681,000 barrels in August. Dangote processed an estimated 689,000 barrels daily, making up the shortfall with crude from its inventory.
The regulator’s data also showed a sharper squeeze in diesel supply, with daily receipts falling 40 per cent from 14.5 million litres in August to 8.7 million litres in September, despite consumption increasing slightly to 14.5 million litres.
Dangote’s diesel production rose 35 per cent to 24.32 million litres daily, but domestic deliveries dropped to 8.14 million litres as exports increased 82 per cent to 15.91 million litres per day. Diesel stocks climbed to 232.5 million litres at the end of September.
In contrast, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), commonly known as cooking gas, recorded improved supply. Daily receipts rose nine per cent to 4.7 kilotonnes, with domestic supply increasing 50 per cent to 4.5 kilotonnes and imports dropping 85 per cent.
However, LPG consumption also rose eight per cent to 5.2 kilotonnes daily.
In the gas sector, total average daily supply, including deliveries to Nigeria LNG Limited, fell 2.2 per cent to 4.822 billion cubic feet in September. Domestic gas supply declined 6.7 per cent to 2.066 billion cubic feet daily, while supply to NLNG increased 1.5 per cent to 2.756 billion cubic feet.
