As the multi-billion-dollar Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG) Train 7 Project reaches more than 90 percent completion, President Bola Tinubu has described it as critical to Nigeria’s gas-led economic agenda.

According to Tinubu, the successful delivery of the project would help expand Nigeria’s gas exports, create jobs, deepen local capacity and strengthen investor confidence in the country’s oil and gas sector.

The President spoke at the State House, Abuja, on Thursday when he received an NLNG delegation led by its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Adeleye Falade.

The delegation briefed the President on the progress of Train 7, prospects for further expansion and challenges affecting the company’s operations and contributions to the national economy.

The discussions also covered the pricing and accessibility of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), trucking along the Bonny-Bodo Road corridor, NLNG’s contribution to public revenue, its investments in the Bonny-Bodo Road and other social-impact projects, and the need for a more enabling business environment.

Tinubu congratulated Falade on his appointment, describing his assumption of office as coming at a defining period for the NLNG and Nigeria’s gas development ambitions.

Tinubu expressed the view that the completion of the Train 7 project must translate the country’s vast gas reserves into jobs, increased exports, industrial growth and long-term economic value.

“I congratulate you, Leye, on your appointment. Train 7 is at the centre of our national gas agenda. Its success matters not only to NLNG, but to Nigeria’s economic future,” the President said.

Tinubu commended the progress recorded on the project, describing Train 7 as a benchmark for project delivery, partnership, Nigerian content development and investor confidence.

He assured the NLNG management that the Federal Government would continue to improve the business environment, provide greater regulatory clarity and remove bottlenecks affecting major oil and gas investments.

“Nigeria is open for business, but it must be business that creates value at home — building capacity, supporting communities, protecting the environment and contributing to national prosperity. NLNG must continue to lead by example,” he added.

Responding, Falade thanked the President for his administration’s support for NLNG and the broader gas sector, assuring him that the company remained committed to the safe and successful completion of Train 7.

“With the project now over 90 percent complete, our immediate priority is to deliver the remaining work safely, efficiently and to the required quality, while preparing the plant for reliable and sustainable operations,” Falade said.

He said the project would increase Nigeria’s LNG production capacity, support export growth, create opportunities for Nigerian workers and businesses, deepen local participation and generate greater long-term value from the country’s gas resources.

Falade also restated NLNG’s commitment to supporting the domestic LPG market and improving access to cleaner cooking fuel for households and businesses.

He, however, called for coordinated action among the Federal Government, regulators and industry operators to increase domestic supply, improve storage and distribution infrastructure, eliminate avoidable costs and create a more transparent and efficient LPG market.

“Improving LPG accessibility is important to Nigeria’s energy transition and to the wellbeing of millions of Nigerian households. NLNG remains committed to supporting the domestic market, but improving affordability requires coordinated action across the entire LPG value chain,” he said.

The NLNG chief also sought the President’s intervention in addressing ease-of-doing-business challenges, particularly the proliferation of taxes, levies, charges and regulatory demands imposed by different tiers and agencies of government.

According to him, multiple and sometimes conflicting fiscal and regulatory obligations raise operating costs, create uncertainty and could discourage existing operations and future investments.

Falade assured the President that NLNG was ready to align more closely with the Federal Government’s development agenda and explore additional areas of partnership.

The meeting ended with a renewed commitment by the Federal Government and NLNG to sustain momentum on Train 7 as the project enters its final phase.

Both sides also agreed to strengthen their partnership to support the project’s successful delivery and NLNG’s broader contribution to Nigeria’s gas development and economic growth.

Despite a sharp resurgence in petrol imports, domestic refineries, led by the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, emerged as Nigeria’s largest source of petrol supply in the first seven months of 2026, accounting for nearly three-quarters of the country’s total Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) supply, while imports fell sharply compared with the corresponding period of 2025.

This comes amid increasing dependence on imported petrol in June and July after the authority issued import licences and supplies from domestic refineries dropped sharply, forcing a bigger contribution from imports despite the country’s expanding refining capacity.

An analysis of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority’s monthly fact sheets by The PUNCH on Wednesday showed that domestic refineries supplied approximately 7.41 billion litres of petrol between January and July 2026, compared with about 4.27 billion litres in the corresponding period of 2025.

The figure represents an increase of approximately 3.14 billion litres, or 73.5 per cent, within one year. Petrol imports, however, fell from approximately 6.58 billion litres between January and July 2025 to about 2.48 billion litres in the corresponding period of 2026, representing a decline of about 4.10 billion litres, or 62.3 per cent.

READ ALSO: DPRP Decries Rising Fuel Imports, Despite Strong Local Supply Capacity

The seven-month figures confirm a dramatic reversal in Nigeria’s petrol supply structure, with domestic refining displacing imports as the country’s dominant source of PMS.

Of the approximately 9.89 billion litres of petrol supplied between January and July 2026, domestic refineries accounted for 74.9 per cent, while imported petrol contributed 25.1 per cent.

This contrasts sharply with the corresponding period of 2025, when Nigeria relied primarily on imported petrol. Between January and July 2025, the country received approximately 10.85 billion litres of PMS, comprising 6.58 billion litres from imports and 4.27 billion litres from domestic refineries.

Imports therefore accounted for approximately 60.6 per cent of the total petrol supply during the seven-month period in 2025, while domestic refining accounted for 39.4 per cent.

The data show that domestic refining gained more than 35 percentage points of Nigeria’s petrol supply market within one year, while the share of imports dropped by the same margin.

To reach this conclusion, our correspondent analysed NMDPRA data on daily average domestic and imported petrol supplies from January to July 2025 and compared them with the figures for the corresponding period of 2026. The analysis covered the actual number of days in each month.

The latest NMDPRA fact sheet for July showed that domestic refining supplied an average of approximately 25.8 million litres of petrol per day, while imports contributed about 19.7 million litres daily.

This translates to approximately 799.8 million litres from domestic refineries and 610.7 million litres from imports during July, based on the 31 days in the month.

The July figures showed that while imports increased compared with some of the preceding months, domestic refining remained the larger source of petrol supply.

The development extends the trend recorded in the first half of the year, when domestic refineries supplied approximately 6.61 billion litres, compared with about 1.87 billion litres supplied through imports.

However, the July figures also showed that Nigeria’s domestic refining system remains vulnerable to fluctuations in refinery output, as imported petrol continues to serve as a major source of supply whenever local production declines.

Overall, domestic refinery supply increased by approximately 73.5 per cent between the January-to-July periods of 2025 and 2026, while petrol imports declined by about 62.3 per cent.

A month-by-month analysis revealed that domestic petrol refining supply recorded a mixed performance in the first seven months of 2026. Supply started at 40.1 million litres per day in January but fell by 26.7 per cent to 29.4 million litres daily in February.

It recovered in March, rising by 16.3 per cent to 34.2 million litres per day, before increasing further by 19 per cent to 40.7 million litres daily in April. The upward trend continued in May, when domestic supply rose marginally by two per cent to a seven-month high of 41.5 million litres per day.

However, the gains were reversed in the following months. Domestic refining supply fell by 21.7 per cent to 32.5 million litres daily in June and dropped by another 20.6 per cent to 25.8 million litres per day in July, the lowest level recorded in 2026.

In contrast, domestic refining supply in 2025 recorded only one month of growth during the January-to-July period. Supply rose by 29.8 per cent from 19.1 million litres per day in January to 24.8 million litres daily in February.

Thereafter, supply declined for five consecutive months. It fell by 7.7 per cent to 22.9 million litres daily in March, declined by 6.1 per cent to 21.5 million litres in April and dropped by 14 per cent to 18.5 million litres daily in May.

The downward trend continued in June, when domestic supply declined by 2.2 per cent to 18.1 million litres per day, before falling by another 8.8 per cent to 16.5 million litres daily in July.

Overall, the figures show that while domestic petrol refining supply in 2026 was significantly higher than in 2025, the sector experienced greater volatility. Supply climbed to a peak of 41.5 million litres per day in May 2026 before declining sharply by about 38 per cent to 25.8 million litres per day in July. In 2025, the decline was more gradual but persistent, with supply falling for five consecutive months after its February peak.

Despite the substantial increase in locally refined petrol, Nigeria’s overall PMS supply declined slightly during the period. Total petrol supply fell from approximately 10.85 billion litres between January and July 2025 to about 9.89 billion litres in the corresponding period of 2026, representing a reduction of about 957 million litres, or 8.8 per cent.

The figures underline the rapid transformation of Nigeria’s downstream petroleum market following the ramp-up of operations at the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and other domestic refining facilities.

The Dangote refinery, with a nameplate capacity of 700,000 barrels per day, has emerged as the dominant contributor to Nigeria’s domestic petrol supply since commencing commercial operations.

Its increased output has significantly reduced Nigeria’s dependence on imported PMS, which for decades accounted for the majority of fuel consumed in the country.

However, the volatility in monthly domestic supply has continued to expose the fragility of the country’s transition away from imports.

In June, for instance, domestic refinery supply fell sharply compared with May, while imports rose substantially to fill the resulting supply gap. The July data showed that imports remained elevated, supplying more than 610 million litres during the month, although domestic refineries still supplied nearly 800 million litres.

The development came amid continuing disagreements between the Federal Government and the Dangote Petroleum Refinery over crude supply, petrol imports and the structure of Nigeria’s downstream petroleum market.

The refinery has repeatedly raised concerns about access to locally produced crude and foreign exchange required to purchase feedstock. According to a recent Bloomberg report, the refinery increasingly directed products towards export markets as it struggled with crude supply and foreign exchange constraints under the naira-for-crude arrangement.

“We are exporting as much as possible,” Bloomberg quoted the Group Vice-President of Dangote Refinery, Devakumar V.G. Edwin, as saying. “We are not able to get enough dollars from the Central Bank, and it doesn’t make any sense to be selling the products in naira and not being able to buy dollars. We need the dollars to buy our feedstock.”

The January-to-July figures nevertheless show that Nigeria’s petrol market has undergone a fundamental shift. Within one year, domestic refineries moved from supplying less than two-fifths of the country’s petrol needs to accounting for about three-quarters of total supply, while the dominance of imported products weakened considerably.

The figures suggest that Nigeria’s transition from an import-dependent petrol market to a domestic-refining-led system is accelerating, although the continued supply of more than 2.48 billion litres of imported petrol in seven months shows that imports remain important in bridging supply gaps.

The development has also renewed the debate over the future of petrol imports.

Amid the crisis, the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria in July urged the Federal Government to halt petrol importation, arguing that imported products had become more expensive than locally refined fuel and were undermining efforts to stabilise prices in the downstream sector.

Speaking with The PUNCH, the National Publicity Secretary of IPMAN, Chinedu Ukadike, said the continued issuance of import licences was failing to achieve its intended objective of moderating domestic fuel prices.

Ukadike said, “Independent marketers have looked at the issues of price volatility, import licences and the sale of petroleum products in dollars. I want to use this opportunity to urge the Federal Government to transparently review these issues through the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, which is the industry’s regulator.

“The recent import licences, which were expected to serve as a guide and a check on the prices of petroleum products refined locally, are not yielding the results we expected. We were shocked that the licences issued to depot owners to import petroleum products are resulting in prices of about N1,350 per litre, which is far higher than what Dangote has been selling to us.”

He stressed that the objective of allowing fuel imports was to create competition capable of checking domestic prices but argued that the policy had failed to deliver the expected outcome.

The latest NMDPRA figures, however, indicate that while domestic refining has now become Nigeria’s largest source of petrol, imported products still play a significant role in maintaining supply whenever refinery output falls.

The seven-month data therefore underscore the importance of reliable crude supply, stable foreign exchange access and consistent refinery operations if Nigeria is to consolidate the gains from its growing domestic refining capacity and further reduce its dependence on imported petrol.

Courtesy – The Punch

The management of Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals (DPRP) has expressed concern over the continued issuance of petroleum product import licences despite the refinery’s proven capacity to meet and exceed Nigeria’s domestic Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) requirements.

The refinery noted that while it remains fully committed to supporting Nigeria’s energy security and ensuring uninterrupted fuel availability across the country, the volume of imported PMS entering the market has created uncertainty in domestic demand planning and inventory management.

According to market data available to the refinery, imported PMS accounted for approximately 43 percent of the fuel supplied into the Nigerian market in July, a development that raises questions about the necessity of continued large-scale imports when substantial local refining capacity exists.

Since commencing operations, Dangote Refinery has consistently maintained sufficient inventory levels and reserved product volumes to guarantee steady supply to the Nigerian market. This commitment has required significant investment in storage, logistics, and working capital, all aimed at protecting Nigerians from supply disruptions and market volatility.

READ ALSO: US Hails DPRP as Nigeria’s Petroleum Exports Surge Seven Times

However, the refinery stated that the absence of transparency regarding the actual volume of imported products expected into the country makes effective production and inventory planning increasingly challenging. Maintaining large stock positions without clear visibility into import volumes imposes substantial carrying costs on the refinery and ultimately undermines efficient market operations.

“As a responsible energy provider, we have always endeavoured to keep adequate reserves to satisfy local demand at all times. However, in an environment where significant volumes of imported PMS continue to enter the market through licences issued by the regulator, and where there is limited visibility on future import volumes, it becomes commercially unsustainable to continue holding excess inventory indefinitely.”

The refinery explained that, under these circumstances, any surplus products not immediately absorbed by the domestic market must be exported to regional and international markets. Consequently, DPRP’s export volumes have increased in recent months, not because local demand cannot be met, but because excess inventory generated by market uncertainty must be evacuated to avoid unnecessary storage and financing costs.

Dangote Refinery emphasised that its growing exports should not be interpreted as a lack of commitment to the Nigerian market. Rather, exports are a prudent operational response to the realities of a market where imported products continue to compete with locally refined fuel despite the availability of sufficient domestic refining capacity.

The company reiterated that it remains ready, willing, and able to meet and surpass Nigeria’s petroleum product requirements and continues to invest heavily in ensuring reliable supply across the country.

The refinery further stated that should any supply shortfalls arise as a result of market distortions created by excessive importation and the inability of local producers to accurately forecast domestic demand, such shortages should not be attributed to Dangote Refinery, which has consistently demonstrated its capacity and commitment to serving the Nigerian market.

DPRP therefore called for greater transparency, improved market coordination, and policies that support local refining, enhance energy security, conserve foreign exchange, and maximize the economic benefits of Nigeria’s investments in domestic refining capacity.