The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has disclosed that Dangote Refinery and other local refineries in the country only met 50 percent of the national petroleum products consumption requirement in February 2025, while the shortfall is imported by Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs).
This comes as the regulatory body stressed that there is no known Nigerian law that prohibits Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) from importing when necessary.
The Executive Director, Distribution System, Storage and Retailing Infrastructure, Ogbugo Ukoha, made this disclosure at a press briefing in Abuja on Wednesday, 19 February, 2025.
According to Ukoha, all petroleum products imported to the country this year were of standard quality, adding that the NNPCL had not imported the Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, this year.
He explained that the contribution of local refineries has been less than a 60 percent shortfall in January and February 2025.
He, however, specifically noted that none of the OMCs that owned refineries had imported petroleum products this year.
“So, just for clarity, what I am saying is that the contribution of local refining towards the sufficiency was less than 60 percent in January and less than 50 percent in February 2025.”
He added that, “the shortfall is sourced by way of importation. Even though none of the OMCs that owned refineries have imported this year PMS”.
On quality, he said NMDPRA always insists that all petroleum products meet the specifications of the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.
According to him, the Authority does not permit the distribution of products that fall short of quality standards.
“You must meet those specifications; otherwise, we will not let those products be distributed,” he said.
A report claimed that NNPCL had imported over 200 million litres of petrol in February alone.
However, its spokesman, Femi Soneye, on Tuesday,18 February, 2025 noted that while NNPC Limited has not imported PMS in 2025, “it is important to clarify that there is no law prohibiting NNPC Limited from importing when necessary.”
He added in the statement that “as a company primarily responsible for ensuring energy security in Nigeria, if there were any PMS supply insufficiency in the future, NNPC Limited has the right and responsibility to intervene by importing to bridge the gap.”
