Nigeria’s crude oil imports for domestic refining dropped in April 2026, as the country also recorded a drop in crude oil importation, according to the latest data from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority.

The NMDPRA Fact Sheet for April 2026 shows that out of the total 18.37 million barrels of crude supplied to domestic refineries for the month, only 410,000 were imported, while as much as 17.96 million barrels came from local sources.

The development indicates a reduction in import dependence compared to previous months, where imports stood at 9.43 million barrels in March and 4.25 million barrels in February.

Daily, domestic refineries received an average of 612,000 barrels per day in April, with local crude accounting for 599,000 bpd and imports shrinking to a negligible 13,700 bpd.

Three operational modular refineries – WalterSmith, Edo Refinery, and Aradel – recorded varying capacity utilisation rates and collectively supplied an average of 0.559 ML/D of diesel to the domestic market.

The Dangote refinery received the largest share of the crude supplied. The facility operated at an average capacity utilisation of 99.12 per cent, achieving 100 per cent utilisation on most days in April.

With this reliable local crude supply, the refinery produced 53.6 million litres per day of petrol, 23.6 million litres per day of diesel, and 22.9 million litres per day of Aviation Turbine Kerosene (jet fuel).

Of the PMS produced, 40.7 million litres per day were supplied to the domestic market, while 17.1 million litres per day were exported. Similar export volumes were recorded for diesel (17.8 ML/D) and jet fuel (20.5 ML/D).

The improved local crude supply, especially under the naira-for-crude deal, and high refinery performance push the total PMS daily supply to 44.4 million litres per day in April, up from 40.1 million daily in March. Domestic PMS supply rose to 40.7 ML/D while imports fell to just 3.7 ML/D.

Daily PMS consumption (volumes trucked out) stood at 51.1 ML/D, slightly above the 2026 benchmark of 50 ML/D. National fuel sufficiency averaged 18 days for PMS and 39 days for diesel.

The regulatory authority described the development as a strong indicator of Nigeria’s growing energy self-sufficiency. (Channels)

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