Dangote Refinery Slashes Nigeria’s Petrol Import Bill By 54% In Q1 2025.
In a transformative shift for Nigeria’s energy sector, the country’s reliance on imported petrol has plummeted, with the petrol import bill dropping by an impressive 54% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2025, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The significant decline, from $2.6 billion in Q1 2024 to $1.2 billion in Q1 2025, is largely attributed to the ramp-up of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, which has begun operating at near-full capacity.
The 650,000-barrel-per-day refinery, which commenced full-scale production in late 2024, has reshaped Nigeria’s fuel market by meeting a substantial portion of the nation’s daily petrol demand of approximately 50 million litres. Prior to the refinery’s operations, Nigeria imported nearly 90% of its petrol, leaving the economy vulnerable to foreign exchange fluctuations and supply chain disruptions. The NBS reported a 46.68% quarter-on-quarter decrease in petrol import costs, from N2.63 trillion in Q1 2024 to N1.76 trillion in Q1 2025, marking the lowest quarterly import bill since 2020.
Industry experts credit the Dangote Refinery’s output, which reached over 30 million litres per day (approximately 200,000 barrels) by late January 2025, for covering roughly 60% of Nigeria’s petrol needs. “They are importing a lot less, and traders are making up the shortfall from offshore Lome,” a trader told Platts, referencing the transshipment hub off Togo’s coast. The refinery’s utilisation rate, now exceeding 85%, has significantly reduced Nigeria’s dependence on foreign fuel.
Further bolstering this trend, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) reported a 29.9 million litre drop in daily petrol imports, from 44.6 million litres in August 2024 to 14.7 million litres by mid-April 2025. This reduction coincides with a 670% surge in local petrol production, driven by the Dangote Refinery, the reactivation of the Port Harcourt Refinery in November 2024, and contributions from smaller modular refineries. Local refineries now produce 26.2 million litres daily, a stark contrast to near-zero output in August 2024.
Despite the decline in imports, Nigeria’s petrol supply remains robust, averaging above the 50 million litres daily requirement. Total supply peaked at 56 million litres per day in November 2024, before slightly decreasing to 51.5 million litres in March 2025 and 40.9 million litres in early April 2025, according to NMDPRA data.
Farouk Ahmed, CEO of NMDPRA, hailed the progress but urged collective action to safeguard Nigeria’s oil and gas infrastructure. “It takes all of us—government, traditional institutions, companies, and the youth—to collaborate and resist criminal activities that threaten our infrastructure,” he said. Ahmed also reaffirmed the NMDPRA’s commitment to transparency and accountability in regulating the oil sector.
The rise of domestic refining capacity signals a new era for Nigeria’s energy independence, with the Dangote Refinery leading the charge in transforming the nation into a net producer of petrol. As local production continues to grow, Nigeria is poised to further reduce its reliance on costly imports, stabilising its economy and strengthening its position in the global energy market.
