{"id":383139,"date":"2026-04-16T21:48:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T21:48:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/383139\/"},"modified":"2026-04-16T21:48:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T21:48:12","slug":"nigerias-decades-long-fuel-dependency-ends-as-dangote-ramps-up-output","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/383139\/","title":{"rendered":"Nigeria\u2019s decades-long fuel dependency ends as Dangote ramps up output"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n In March 2026, the refinery exported around 434 million litres of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol), out of a total output of 1.49 billion litres, demonstrating its rising influence beyond Nigeria’s borders, per the Punch\u2019s<\/a> assessment\n <\/p>\n

\n This development follows within twenty-four hours of reports indicating that the Dangote Refinery has achieved the status of a net exporter of petrol<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n

\n According to figures from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), only 1.06 billion litres of total petrol generated during the month was used locally, leaving a significant excess for exports.\n <\/p>\n

\n The refinery ran at an average capacity utilization of 93.62%, solidifying its position as the dominating player in Nigeria’s downstream sector.\n <\/p>\n

\n The refinery produced an average of 48.2 million litres of petrol per day, of which 34.2 million litres were delivered to the domestic market.\n <\/p>\n

\n This growing disparity between production and local consumption is rapidly transforming Nigeria into a major supplier of refined petroleum products in Africa and beyond.\n <\/p>\n

\n The impact of this increase in refining capacity is clearly seen.\n <\/p>\n

\n Nigeria became a net exporter of gasoline in March 2026 for the first time in decades, marking a watershed moment for a country that had previously relied on imported fuel while being Africa’s greatest oil producer.\n <\/p>\n

\n As mentioned earlier, Nigeria became a net exporter of fuel in March, exporting nearly 44,000 barrels per day (bpd) of gasoline, slightly exceeding imports and leaving a net surplus of approximately 3,000 bpd.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cData from market intelligence firm Kpler showed that gasoline imports into the country dropped sharply to 41,000 barrels per day (b\/d) during the month, the lowest level on record,\u201d the refinery revealed via a statement.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cAt the same time, crude supply to the Dangote facility rose to about 565,000 b\/d, the second-highest intake since the 650,000 b\/d refinery commenced operations in late 2023, indicating strong processing rates and increased product yield,\u201d it added.\n <\/p>\n

\n Due to inefficient state refineries, Nigeria has historically been heavily dependent on fuel imports.\n <\/p>\n

\n This system depleted foreign exchange and left the country vulnerable to supply shocks from around the world.\n <\/p>\n

\n Now, that dynamic is shifting.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In March 2026, the refinery exported around 434 million litres of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol), out of a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":383140,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[138,219,111,139,69],"class_list":["post-383139","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-economy","tag-business","tag-economy","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/383139","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=383139"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/383139\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/383140"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=383139"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=383139"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=383139"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}