DANGOTE REFINERY DRIVES DOWN PETROL IMPORTS IN AUGUST

** **Nigeria’s average daily petrol imports fell by 26 per cent in August as domestic supply increased, with the Dangote Petroleum Refinery accounting for about 71 per cent of the country’s total petrol receipts during the month.

Data from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority showed that petrol imports declined from 19.7 million litres per day in July to 14.6 million litres in August.

At the same time, domestic petrol receipts increased by 39 per cent, rising from 25.8 million litres per day in July to 35.9 million litres.

The increase pushed total petrol receipts to 50.5 million litres per day in August, up 11 per cent from 45.5 million litres recorded in July.

The Dangote refinery supplied an average of 35.87 million litres of petrol to the domestic market daily and produced 41.94 million litres per day. It also exported an average of 9.73 million litres daily.

The refinery ended August with 360.4 million litres of petrol in stock. Its combined inventory of petrol, diesel and aviation fuel stood at 630.9 million litres.

Meanwhile, petrol consumption fell by 14 per cent from 48.3 million litres per day in July to 41.5 million litres in August, based on volumes trucked into the domestic market.

Diesel imports also dropped significantly, declining by 84 per cent from 7.9 million litres per day in July to 1.3 million litres in August.

The NMDPRA further reported that crude oil receipts by domestic refineries increased by 17 per cent to 683,000 barrels per day in August.