Busayo Samuel
From 2015 to 2019, Nigeria could only produce 1.46 billion litres of petrol due to low refining capacity caused by the country’s inactive refineries, as reported by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The bureau disclosed this in its 2023 Petroleum Products Distribution Statistics released recently.
It was observed that the 1.46 billion litres produced within the period was not up to what the country would consume in two months.
According to the report, in 2015, the country produced 377.9 million litres of petrol; 1.05 million litres in 2016; 951.56 million in 2017 and 128.1 million litres in 2019.
No fuel was refined in 2018, it indicated.
From 2020 to 2023, the country only produced diesel and kerosene with the help of modular refineries, as the country’s refineries were moribund.
As a result, over 20 billion litres of petrol was imported in 2023, three billion litres below the 23 billion litres imported in 2022.
According to the report, 20.30 billion litres of Premium Motor Spirit were imported in 2023 relative to 23.54 billion litres in 2022, dipping by 13.77 percent.
In the same period, PMS truck out stood at 20.22 billion litres, indicating a 16.96 percent decrease relative to 24.35 billion litres recorded in 2022.
The Federal Government had repeatedly linked the reduction in the quantity of imported petrol to the removal of subsidies.
It was revealed that about 69.71 million litres of kerosene were locally produced in 2023, compared to 44.68 million litres in the previous year, indicating a 56.02 percent rise.
For automotive gas oil (diesel), 109.39 million litres were locally produced in 2023, compared to 102.47 million litres reported in 2022, representing a 6.76 percent growth rate.
“Also, 4.94 billion litres of automotive gas oil were imported in 2023, indicating an increase of 23.66 per cent compared to 4.00 billion litres in the previous year,” the report stated.
Despite being an oil-rich nation, Nigeria depends on imported petrol due to a lack of refining capacity.
However, the Dangote refinery appears set to break the jinx as it commenced petrol production in September.
The President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, said the refinery would put an end to fuel importation when it became fully operational.
