Petroleum marketers have begun importing petrol to bolster the country’s fuel supply due to the Dangote Refinery’s failure to meet demand.
Between Friday, October 18, and Sunday, October 20, four vessels carrying a total of 123.4 million liters of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) arrived at Nigerian seaports.
Earlier reports indicated that the Dangote Refinery, which has a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, has been unable to achieve its production goals, raising alarms about potential fuel shortages. Current production levels are around 10 million liters of petrol daily, significantly less than the promised 25 million liters.
The federal government’s complete deregulation of the downstream oil sector has allowed for PMS imports, enabling dealers to take advantage of favorable market prices. In September, approximately 141 million liters of PMS were imported.
According to a document from the Nigerian Port Authority, the four vessels docked at Apapa port in Lagos and Calabar port in Cross River State. The breakdown of arrivals includes 35,000 metric tonnes and 37,000 metric tonnes at Apapa port, along with 10,000 metric tonnes at both Apapa and Calabar ports.
Using the conversion rate of 1,341 liters per metric tonne, the total import volume amounts to around 123.4 million liters of petrol.
