Nigeria’s petrol import bill surged 989.4% to N952.15bn in Q2 2026 despite rising domestic refining capacity and increased petrol exports.
Nigeria’s petrol import bill rose by 989.4 percent to N952.15 billion in the second quarter (Q2) of 2026, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The NBS disclosed the figures in its newly released Foreign Trade in Goods Statistics report for Q2 2026, published on Monday. The report showed the figure jumped from N87.4 billion in the first quarter (Q1) of 2026, an increase of N864.75 billion within three months, meaning Nigeria spent roughly 10.9 times more on imported petrol between April and June than it did between January and March.
Petrol Was the Single Biggest Import
The NBS said petrol, classified as “Motor Spirit Ordinary,” was Nigeria’s largest imported commodity during the quarter, accounting for 6.6 percent of total imports valued at N14.42 trillion, up sharply from just 0.64 percent of imports in Q1.
Other major imports during the period included crude oil, durum wheat, used vehicles with diesel or semi-diesel engines, and motorcycles and cycles fitted with auxiliary motors, “with petrol engines above 50cc but below 250cc, in completely knocked-down (CKD) form.”
A Widening Feud With Dangote Refinery
The sharp rise in petrol imports comes despite the continued expansion of domestic refining capacity, particularly at the Dangote refinery, whose distillation capacity grew from 650,000 to 700,000 barrels per day following maintenance and expansion work completed in February 2026.
The increase has intensified a growing dispute between the refinery and fuel marketers over the continued inflow of foreign petrol. On August 31, Dangote refinery said it may restrict fuel supplies to major oil marketers over their continued importation of petrol into the country.
Data from the National Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) suggests the story may be more about price than volume: imported PMS volumes actually averaged 9.23 million litres per day in Q2, down 17.8 percent from 11.23 million litres per day in Q1 — even though the naira value of those imports rose nearly elevenfold. That divergence indicates the import bill was driven substantially by higher prices rather than a corresponding jump in the quantity of fuel brought in, though volumes did rise sharply within the quarter itself, from 3.7 million litres per day in April to 18.1 million litres per day by June, even as domestic refinery supply also grew from 40.7 million to 41.5 million litres per day over the same stretch.
Nigeria Is Also Exporting Petrol
Despite the substantial import bill, Nigeria is simultaneously exporting significant volumes of petrol. NBS data showed PMS exports rose from N452.48 billion in Q1 to N546.02 billion in Q2, with African markets accounting for about 76.3 percent of total exports and West African countries alone receiving N376.46 billion worth of Nigerian petrol.
Even so, Nigeria recorded a net PMS trade deficit of N406.12 billion in Q2, as imports of N952.15 billion outpaced exports of N546.02 billion — underlining what analysts describe as a striking contradiction: domestic refining capacity is expanding rapidly, yet the country continues to spend heavily on imported fuel while exporting sizeable volumes of its own.
Still Far Below Last Year’s Levels
Despite the sharp quarterly increase, petrol imports remained significantly lower than the level recorded a year earlier. (Note: figures for the year-on-year comparison vary slightly by source — this report’s original figure of N2.83 trillion for Q2 2025 differs from N2.38 trillion cited in some other analyses of the same NBS data; the underlying direction, a sharp year-on-year decline, is consistent regardless.)
The Bigger Trade Picture
The petrol import data was released alongside Nigeria’s broader Q2 2026 trade figures, which showed the country posted a merchandise trade surplus of N12.59 trillion, a 101.32 percent increase compared with the corresponding quarter of 2025. Total merchandise trade for the quarter stood at N41.44 trillion, with exports accounting for 65.2 percent of that figure at N27 trillion, driven largely by crude oil, which remained Nigeria’s biggest export at N12.91 trillion, or 47.79 percent of total exports.
China remained Nigeria’s leading source of imports in Q2 2026, followed by the United States, India, the Netherlands and Germany
