By Joyce Ekeh
Nigeria’s domestic petrol supply from refineries rose by 15.1 per cent to 29.7 million litres per day, ml/d, in August 2026, even as petrol imports increased to 20.6ml/d.
The latest figures released by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA, showed that domestic refinery supply recovered from 25.8ml/d recorded in July, while imports rose by 4.6 per cent from 19.7ml/d in the same period.
The figures were contained in the NMDPRA’s August 2026 Midstream and Downstream Sector Factsheet released on Thursday.
The increase in domestic supply marks a recovery after three consecutive months of decline. Refinery petrol supply fell from 41.5ml/d in May to 32.5ml/d in June and 25.8ml/d in July, before rising to 29.7ml/d in August.
Despite the recovery, the August volume remained below the 40.7ml/d recorded in January and April.
The NMDPRA data also showed a steady rise in petrol imports since June.
Imports, which stood at 18.1ml/d in June, increased to 19.7ml/d in July and further to 20.6ml/d in August.
However, the August import volume remained below the 24.8ml/d recorded in January.
The latest figure was significantly higher than the volumes recorded between February and May, when imports remained relatively low.
According to the regulator, petrol imports stood at 3.0ml/d in February, 5.9ml/d in March, 3.7ml/d in April and 5.9ml/d in May.
The latest figures therefore indicate that while domestic refinery contribution to petrol supply improved in August, imported products continued to account for a significant share of supply.
The August recovery in domestic refinery supply also came against the backdrop of efforts to increase local refining capacity and reduce Nigeria’s reliance on imported petroleum products.
