On Wednesday, the Federal Government announced that Nigeria’s daily petrol consumption has reduced to 50 million litres, with local refineries supplying half.
Government says other half is imported. It clarified that no domestic refining company imported.
Mr. Ogbugo Ukoha, Executive Director, Distribution Systems, Storage and Retailing Infrastructure, Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA, told journalists after a stakeholders meeting in Abuja that petrol importation was necessary to prevent downstream scarcity.
“Let me speak a little bit about supply. All of us have experienced a yuletide free of any scarcity and let me just reconfirm that from year to year we saw an increase in the demand of PMS by 2021, 2022 up to 2023 just before the current administration came in.
“The daily PMS supply sufficiency was always in excess of 60 million, in fact averaging about 66 million a day for PMS.
“And following Mr. President’s withdrawal of subsidy, the announcement on May 29th, 2023, we immediately saw a steep decline in consumption and between then and as we speak, we’ve continued to do plus or minus 50 million. Â
“Of these 50 million liters averaging for each day, less than 50% of that is contributed by domestic refineries and so the shortfall in accordance with the PIA (Petroleum Industry Act) is sourced by way of imports.”