By Opeyemi Adelakun
Nigeria’s reliance on imported petrol increased in July as supplies from domestic refineries fell by 21 per cent, according to the latest monthly data on the country’s midstream and downstream petroleum operations.
The data showed that domestic petrol supply declined from 32.5 million litres per day in June to 25.8 million litres daily in July.
Over the same period, imported petrol receipts increased by nine per cent, rising from 18.1 million litres per day to 19.7 million litres.
The development came despite the growing contribution of private refineries to Nigeria’s fuel supply and efforts by the Federal Government to reduce the country’s long-standing dependence on imported refined petroleum products.
Overall petrol receipts fell by 10 per cent, from 50.6 million litres per day in June to 45.5 million litres in July.
The latest figures extended the reversal recorded in June, when petrol imports surged by 207 per cent to 18.1 million litres daily while domestic supply fell by 22 per cent to 32.5 million litres.
The decline in local petrol supply coincided with a reduction in crude oil receipts by domestic refineries. Crude supplies fell from 632,000 barrels per day in June to 585,000 barrels daily in July, representing an eight per cent decline.
The figures highlight the importance of consistent crude feedstock to the sustainability of Nigeria’s expanding domestic refining capacity.
The Dangote Petroleum Refinery remained a major contributor during the period, operating at an average capacity utilisation of more than 71 per cent and recording average petrol production of about 25.9 million litres per day.
The refinery’s output was almost equivalent to the 25.8 million litres per day recorded as total domestic petrol receipts for July.
However, the fall in domestic supply meant imports had to fill part of the gap in the petrol market.
The trend was also reflected in the diesel market, where total Automotive Gas Oil receipts rose by 46 per cent from 16.2 million litres per day in June to 23.6 million litres daily in July.
Domestic diesel supply slipped slightly to 15.7 million litres per day, while imports accounted for 7.9 million litres daily after no imported diesel was recorded in June.
Meanwhile, petrol consumption fell by 25 per cent, from 47.4 million litres per day in June to 35.7 million litres daily in July.
Despite the decline in consumption, petrol stock sufficiency improved from 19.7 days to 22.4 days.
Diesel stock sufficiency also increased from 37.1 days to 46.5 days, even as diesel consumption declined from 16 million litres to 14.7 million litres daily.
The Liquefied Petroleum Gas market recorded a different pattern, with domestic supply strengthening while imports declined.
Total LPG receipts increased from 5.1 kilotonnes per day to 5.3 kilotonnes, while domestic supply rose by 22 per cent from 3.6 kilotonnes to 4.4 kilotonnes daily. Imports, meanwhile, fell by 40 per cent from 1.5 kilotonnes to 0.9 kilotonnes per day.
LPG consumption increased by seven per cent to 4.4 kilotonnes daily.
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