Nigeria’s petrol imports have seen a dramatic decline, falling from 44.6 million litres per day in August 2024 to 14.7 million litres by mid-April 2025. This marks a reduction of about 30 million litres daily — a 67% drop — according to data from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).
NMDPRA’s CEO, Farouk Ahmed, disclosed the figures on Tuesday at the Presidential Villa in Abuja during the sixth edition of the *Meet-the-Press* series organized by the Presidential Communications Team.
Ahmed noted that this drop in imports coincided with a sharp rise in local production, which increased by 670% over the same period. From virtually no contribution in August 2024, domestic refineries began supplying 3.4 million litres per day in September, surging to 26.2 million litres daily by early April.
This boost was largely due to the phased restart of the Port Harcourt Refinery in November and increasing output from modular refineries across the country.
**Challenges Remain**
Despite the positive trend, the combined petrol supply has only exceeded the government’s target of 50 million litres per day twice in the past eight months—56 million litres in November and 52.3 million in February. In March, supply dropped slightly to 51.5 million litres and fell further to 40.9 million litres in early April.
Ahmed emphasized that the NMDPRA continues to regulate import licenses based strictly on the nation’s consumption needs.
