Importation of petrol by oil marketers has risen to 2.3 billion litres of petrol between September 11 and December 5, 2024.
The increase is in spite of the recent start of petrol production by two major refineries in Nigeria in the last three months.
The Dangote Petroleum Refinery with 650,000 barrels per day (BPD) capacity began production, followed by the 210,000bpd capacity Port Harcourt Refining Company in Rivers State, with current production output of 60,000bpd.
Marketers had, following the commencement of local refining, said importation would significantly reduce but this doesn’t seem to be the case as there has been a rise instead.
This week alone, about 52,000 metric tonnes of petrol (68.74 million litres) were brought into the country.
The products were conveyed in three vessels and berthed at the Apapa Port in Lagos State, Tin Can Port in Lagos State and the Calabar Port in Cross Rivers.
Data from the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) showed that on Tuesday, December 3, 2024, a ship named Binta Saleh carrying 12,000MT (15.864 million litres) of petrol berthed at the Apapa port at 8:12 am. The vessel had Blue Seas Maritime as its agent and was handled at the Bulk Oil Plant terminal.
On Wednesday, December 4, 2024, another vessel named Shamal brought in 20,000mt (26.44 million litres) of petrol through the Tincan port at midnight. The ship was handled by the Peak Shipping Agency at Terminal KLT Phase 3a.
Similarly, another vessel named Watson will bring in 20,000MT (26.44 million) of refined fuel today (Thursday) by 4:52 pm at the Calabar port. The agent, Kach Maritime, will handle the vessel at the Ecomarine Terminal.
This development indicates that the recent conversation organised by the NNPCL Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari, and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority to eliminate the importation of petrol into the country may have ended in a deadlock.
