*** Local Production Up 670%, Fuel Demand Drops Sharply Post-Subsidy
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has disclosed that the Federal Government has not imported any petrol since January 2025, a direct impact of the post-subsidy reform and increased domestic refining capacity.
Chief Executive Officer of NMDPRA, Farouk Ahmed, made this revelation during the Meet the Press session, an interactive engagement between State House correspondents and Presidential media aides, held on Tuesday in Abuja.
Ahmed noted that local fuel supply has surged by 670 percent between August 2024 and April 2025, largely due to the gradual revival of the Port Harcourt Refinery and increased output from modular refineries across the country.
He explained that following the fuel subsidy removal announced by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on May 29, 2023, daily demand for petrol dropped significantly—from 44.6 million litres in August 2024 to just 14.7 million litres as of April 13, 2025. This represents a dramatic decline of 67 percent.
“After contributing virtually nothing in August, local refineries ramped up output to 26.2 million litres per day by early April,” Ahmed said. “This is a major leap from just 3.4 million litres in September, when local refining first showed measurable results.”
Despite this progress, he acknowledged that domestic production only exceeded the government’s 50 million litres/day consumption benchmark twice—in November 2024 (56 million litres) and February 2025 (52.3 million litres). March saw a slight dip to 51.5 million litres, and as of mid-April, it had fallen further to 40.9 million litres.
The NMDPRA boss clarified that while import licenses remain in place, they are issued strictly in alignment with the country’s supply needs.
Responding to concerns about oil market volatility and its potential impact on Nigeria’s 2025 budget, Ahmed dismissed fears, insisting that ongoing reforms and increased local capacity will cushion external shocks.
More details to follow…
