Dangote Refinery strengthened its dominance of Nigeria’s fuel market in May, supplying nearly 88 per cent of the country’s petrol needs as diesel imports fell to zero.

The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) says the Dangote Petroleum Refinery supplied 87.55 per cent of the premium motor spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, consumed in Nigeria in May 2026.

The agency disclosed this in its monthly operational report released on Friday.

According to the report, the country’s average daily petrol supply rose to 47.4 million litres in May, compared to 44.4 million litres recorded in April.

Of this volume, domestic production contributed 41.5 million litres per day, while imported products accounted for 5.9 million litres per day.

The NMDPRA noted that Dangote Refinery was responsible for the entire volume of locally refined petrol supplied to the Nigerian market, delivering an average of 41.5 million litres daily.

The refinery, with an installed capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, produced an average of 44.7 million litres of petrol daily during the period and operated at an average utilisation rate of 101.25 per cent.

Despite stronger local refining activity, petrol import volumes increased by 59.5 per cent, rising from 3.7 million litres per day in April to 5.9 million litres per day in May.

The report further showed that average daily petrol consumption declined to 46.3 million litres in May, down from 51.1 million litres recorded a month earlier.

Meanwhile, national petrol stock coverage fell slightly to 16 days in May from 17.7 days in April.

DIESEL IMPORTS FALL TO ZERO

In the diesel segment, imports dropped completely to zero in May, compared to 1.7 million litres per day imported in April.

This followed a significant increase in local diesel production, which climbed to 18.8 million litres per day from 8.5 million litres per day in the previous month.

Dangote Refinery remained the dominant supplier, recording an average daily diesel output of 24.5 million litres.

Of that quantity, 18.2 million litres per day was supplied to the domestic market, while 6.5 million litres per day was exported, according to the regulator.

The NMDPRA also stated that modular refineries such as Waltersmith, Edo Refinery and Aradel contributed to domestic diesel availability during the month.

AVIATION FUEL PRODUCTION SURPASSES LOCAL REQUIREMENTS

The authority said average daily aviation fuel supply increased to 3.6 million litres in May, up from 2.6 million litres per day in April.

According to the report, Dangote Refinery produced 21.9 million litres of aviation fuel daily, supplying 2.8 million litres to the local market while exporting 17.5 million litres per day.

The regulator added that aviation fuel stock sufficiency stood at 94 days during the period.