The Federal Government announced on Wednesday that Nigeria’s petrol consumption has declined to 50 million litres per day, with local refineries now supplying half of the daily demand. The remaining volume is sourced through importation to prevent fuel scarcity, according to the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).
Speaking after a stakeholders’ meeting in Abuja, NMDPRA’s Executive Director, Distribution Systems, Storage, and Retailing Infrastructure, Mr. Ogbugo Ukoha, highlighted the shift in consumption patterns following the removal of fuel subsidies in May 2023.
“Before the subsidy removal, daily petrol consumption averaged 66 million litres. Since the policy change, we’ve seen a consistent drop to around 50 million litres daily,” Ukoha said.
He confirmed that less than 50% of the current supply comes from domestic refineries, with the shortfall covered by imports in line with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
In a major policy shift, Ukoha also announced a ban on 60,000-litre capacity tankers from transporting petrol and other petroleum products, effective March 1, 2025. This decision comes despite opposition from the National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), which warned that the ban would jeopardize investments worth over N300 billion in over 2,000 high-capacity trucks.
Ukoha explained that the ban aims to curb the increasing incidents of petrol tanker fires and reduce the strain on Nigerian roads caused by overloaded trucks.
“Starting March 1, any truck carrying more than 60,000 litres of hydrocarbons will be barred from loading at depots. By the fourth quarter of 2025, this limit will further drop to 45,000 litres,” he added.
The decision was made following consultations with key stakeholders, including the DSS, Federal Fire Service, Road Safety Corps, NARTO, NUPENG, and others.
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