Nigeria’s petroleum products marketers and retailers imported 154.22 million litres of premium motor spirit from March 17 to 23, 2025, according to the Nigerian Port Authority.
This showed that petrol marketers and retailers within the period under review have looked elsewhere to source petroleum product outside Dangote Refinery.
NPA’s document on Thursday indicated that vessels carrying 115,000 metric tonnes, representing 154.22 million litres of PMS, will bring in products through Tincan port in Lagos, the Lekki Deep Seaport in Lagos, and the Calabar port in Cross River State.
The document also revealed that the Dangote Refinery imported 654,766 metric tonnes of crude oil within the same period.
Accordingly, the first shipment carrying 20,000 metric tonnes of PMS allocated to the West African Port Services berthed at the Dangote terminal on Monday, March 17, 2025, at 4:03 pm.
On the same day, two vessels conveying 20,000 metric tonnes, respectively, berthed at the Tincan and Calabar seaports. This was followed by the arrival of a 20,000 metric-tonne Watson vessel on Thursday, March 20, at 3:18 pm. It berthed at the Ecomarine terminal and was handled by a Kach maritime agent.
Also, Binta Saleh’s ship was scheduled to berth at the Tincan port in Lagos carrying 5,000 metric tonnes of imported petrol on Friday, March 21, at midnight.
On Saturday, March 22, at 11:06 am, another vessel carrying 15,000 metric tonnes of fuel will berth at the Calabar port. It was assigned to Peak Shipping as its agent.
At the same port, a vessel carrying 15,000 metric tonnes of fuel will arrive at the Eco Marine terminal on Sunday at 5:10 pm. This means the seven vessels should bring in 115,000 metric tonnes.
Summarily, going by the conversion rate of 1,341 litres to one metric tonne, it, therefore, means that the petrol retailers and marketers are bringing in about 154.22 million litres of petrol within the period under review.
The development comes amid the latest decision by Dangote Refinery to suspend its petroleum products sales in Naira.
The 650,000 barrels per day refinery’s decision to end sales in Naira is not unconnected to the stalemate in the Naira-for-crude sale deal with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.
Earlier, the Petroleum Retailers Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria had hinted Arogidigba Global Journal that its members will not hesitate to seek alternatives at NNPCL and petrol imports.
Recall that the landing cost of imported PMS dropped to between N774 and N797 per litre as of 12 March 2025, while the ex-depot price of Dangote Refinery stood at N815 and N825 per litre.
Justifying PMS importation, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority recently stated that the country’s three operational refineries contribute less than 50 percent of the nation’s daily petrol consumption, with the shortfall being filled with imported products.