A new Commodity Insights ship-tracking report by S&P Global has revealed that the importation of petrol into Nigeria has significantly dropped in the first two weeks of October.
This, according to the report, follows increased production by Dangote Refinery to meet local demand.
Data from S&P Global Commodities at Sea shows that only 280,400 barrels of gasoline and blend stock were imported into Nigeria during the first week of October, ending on the 6th, via a single Medium Range (MR) vessel.
This marks a sharp decline from the weekly average of 1.3 million barrels recorded in August.
The report further indicated that in the week ending October 13, only one product tanker was reported to have shipped gasoline to Nigeria, carrying 290,567 barrels from Antwerp to Lagos.
It said the two October shipments are significantly lower than the 12 cargoes dispatched in the first half of both August and September.
Since October 8, no additional gasoline shipments have been brought into Nigeria.
The report indicates that the decline in import activity marks the first disruption to the previously well-established flow of fuel, primarily from Northwest Europe to West Africa, driven by the emergence of Dangote refinery’s domestic refining capacity.
“There is no schedule for gasoline coming from Europe to Nigeria at the moment. The rest will have to come from whatever is in the Offshore Lome market,” one trade source said, speculating that the new refinery might meet at most a quarter of domestic demand.
The report said traders, however, warned that Nigeria could still face a substantial fuel deficit in the absence of imported supply.
