The importation of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, has dropped by 30 million litres (about 67 per cent) from 44.6 million litres a day in August 2024 to 14.7 million 14.7 litres by 13 April 2025.
This was revealed by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) on Tuesday.
The Chief Executive Officer, of NMDPRA, Farouk Ahmed, stated this when he featured at the sixth edition of the Meet-the-Press briefing series organised by the Presidential Communications Team at the Aso Villa, Abuja.
He said that local supply rose 670 per cent within that period.
After contributing virtually nothing in August, local plants delivered 26.2 million per day in early April, a jump from the 3.4 ml recorded in September, the first month with measurable output.
He credited the surge to the phased restart of the Port Harcourt Refining Company in late November and to incremental volumes from modular refineries.
Despite the progress, combined supply crossed the government’s 50 ML/day consumption benchmark only twice in the eight-month window—November (56 ML) and February (52.3 ML).
In March it slipped just below target at 51.5 ML, and in the first half of April, it remained short at 40.9 ML.
The NMDPRA Chief argued that the Authority only grants imports licenses relative to the country’s supply requirements.
