Dangote refinery undershoots petrol supply target as Nigeria leans on imports in November – NMDPRA

The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has revealed that petrol supply from the Dangote refinery fell well short of expectations in November, even as Nigeria ramped up fuel imports to stabilise supply ahead of the year-end.

According to the regulator’s November 2025 State of the Midstream and Downstream Fact Sheet, the Dangote refinery was projected to supply 35 million litres of petrol per day but delivered an average of 23.52 million litres daily to the domestic market.

The report showed that Nigeria’s daily petrol consumption declined to 52.9 million litres in November, compared with 56.7 million litres in October. Despite the drop in demand, total petrol supply surged to 71 million litres per day in November, up from 46 million litres in the previous month.

NMDPRA attributed the rise in supply largely to increased imports, which accounted for 52.1 million litres per day, while local refineries supplied 19.5 million litres. The authority said the import surge followed supply deficits recorded in September and October, when volumes fell below national demand requirements.

It also said the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited stepped in as the “supplier of last resort” to boost inventory and ensure adequate availability during the peak festive period.

“Twelve vessels scheduled to discharge in October spilled into November 2025,” the regulator noted, adding that domestic supply figures were based on discharged volumes and refinery truck-outs.

Beyond petrol, the report showed that average daily consumption in November stood at 15.4 million litres for diesel and 2.5 million litres for aviation fuel.

The authority further disclosed that the Port Harcourt refinery continued to supply about 349,000 litres of diesel daily, even though the facility has remained shut since May 24, when the NNPC announced its closure for maintenance. NMDPRA said no fresh production has taken place since the shutdown, but evacuation of previously produced diesel has continued.

Warri and Kaduna refineries, according to the report, remained inactive throughout the period under review.

On modular refineries, NMDPRA said Waltersmith refinery’s 5,000 barrels-per-stream-day second train is currently being commissioned. The refinery operated at an average capacity utilisation of 63.32 per cent in November, producing about 133,000 litres of diesel daily.

Edo refinery recorded an average capacity utilisation of 91.40 per cent, with diesel output of roughly 60,000 litres per day, while Aradel refinery operated at 62.30 per cent capacity, supplying an average of 296,000 litres of diesel daily.

However, the regulator noted that OPAC and Duport refineries did not record any production during the period.