Nigeria recorded a sharp increase in daily petrol consumption in April 2026, with demand rising to 51.1 million litres per day from 47.3 million litres recorded in March.
The figures were contained in the latest industry data released by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority.
The report highlights rising demand for Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, as domestic refining capacity improves and dependence on imported fuel continues to decline.
According to the NMDPRA April 2026 Factsheet, domestic petrol supply also increased significantly during the month, driven mainly by higher production from Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals.
The regulator disclosed that overall domestic petrol supply rose to 40.7 million litres per day in April, compared to 34.2 million litres per day in March.
The Dangote refinery produced 53.6 million litres of petrol daily during the period, supplying 40.7 million litres to the local market while exporting 17.1 million litres daily.
Imported petroleum products contributed only 3.7 million litres per day to domestic supply in April, a decline from 5.9 million litres per day recorded in March.
The NMDPRA stated that the Dangote refinery operated at an average capacity utilisation rate of 99.12 percent in April and achieved full utilisation on most operating days.
However, crude oil supplied to domestic refineries declined to 0.612 million barrels per day from 0.674 million barrels per day recorded in March.
The report also showed that refineries operated by Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited remained inactive during the review period.
According to the regulator, both the Warri and Kaduna refineries recorded zero production despite ongoing rehabilitation efforts.
The latest figures further highlight the growing importance of private refining in Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector following the operational expansion of the 650,000 barrels-per-day Dangote refinery.
Other modular refineries also recorded varying production levels during the month.
WalterSmith Refinery operated at 56.14 percent capacity utilisation in April, while Edo Refinery and Petrochemicals Company posted 79.2 percent utilisation.
Aradel Refinery operated at 39.5 percent capacity utilisation.
Combined, the three modular refineries supplied an average of 0.559 million litres of refined products daily during April.
Despite increased refining activity, the NMDPRA warned that declining crude oil supply to domestic refineries remains a concern, raising questions about feedstock availability and the effectiveness of Nigeria’s domestic crude supply framework.
Nigeria’s oil production also rebounded strongly in April, with combined crude oil and condensate output averaging 1.663 million barrels per day.
Earlier, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission reported that Nigeria supplied 28.5 million barrels of crude oil to domestic refineries in the first quarter of 2026, significantly below the 61.9 million barrels allocated for the period.
Reports had also shown that Nigeria recorded a crude oil and condensate production shortfall of about 16.6 million barrels during the first two months of 2026.
