Energy
Nigeria Records Zero Aviation Fuel Imports for 13 Months
Nigeria’s domestic refineries have completely displaced imported Aviation Turbine Kerosene, commonly known as aviation fuel or Jet A-1, with official industry data showing that local producers solely supplied the country’s aviation fuel market over the past 13 months.
An analysis of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority’s latest petroleum supply statistics showed that between June 2025 and June 2026, there was no recorded import of aviation fuel by Oil Marketing Companies, making domestic refineries the exclusive source of supply throughout the period.
The development marks a significant shift for Nigeria’s aviation fuel market, which had relied heavily on imported Jet A-1 for years due to inadequate domestic refining capacity.
The data showed that domestic refinery receipts fluctuated significantly during the review period, rising from 1.3 million litres per day in June 2025 to 1.5 million litres per day in July before climbing sharply to 3.5 million litres per day in August.
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Supplies later moderated to 1.6 million litres per day in September and 2.7 million litres per day in October, while no receipt was recorded in November. Output then surged dramatically to 14 million litres per day in December, the highest level recorded during the period.
In 2026, domestic refinery receipts fell to 6.0 million litres per day in January before dropping further to 1.6 million litres per day in February. Supplies later recovered to 2.1 million litres per day in March, increased to 3.0 million litres per day in April, rose further to 4.3 million litres per day in May before declining to 2.5 million litres per day in June.
Month-on-month data also showed that average ATK receipts dropped from 3.6 million litres per day in May to 2.5 million litres per day in June, representing a decline of approximately 31 per cent.
An analysis of the NMDPRA data showed that ATK receipts increased from 1.3 million litres per day in June 2025 to 1.5 million litres per day in July, an increase of 0.2 million litres per day or 15.4 per cent.
Supplies then surged to 3.5 million litres per day in August, representing a sharp increase of 2.0 million litres per day or 133.3 per cent over July. However, receipts declined to 1.6 million litres per day in September, a drop of 1.9 million litres per day or 54.3 per cent, before recovering to 2.7 million litres per day in October, reflecting an increase of 1.1 million litres per day or 68.8 per cent.
No domestic refinery receipts were recorded in November 2025, indicating a 100 per cent decline from October’s level. Supply rebounded strongly in December 2025, when domestic refinery receipts climbed to 14.0 million litres per day, the highest level during the review period.
Although a percentage comparison could not be made because no receipts were recorded in November, the December figure represented an increase of 14.0 million litres per day.
Receipts then fell sharply to 6.0 million litres per day in January 2026, a decrease of 8.0 million litres per day or 57.1 per cent, before dropping further to 1.6 million litres per day in February, down by 4.4 million litres per day or 73.3 per cent.
Supplies recovered modestly to 2.1 million litres per day in March, an increase of 0.5 million litres per day or 31.3 per cent, rose to 3.0 million litres per day in April, up by 0.9 million litres per day or 42.9 per cent, and increased further to 4.3 million litres per day in May, representing a gain of 1.3 million litres per day or 43.3 per cent.
However, the upward trend reversed in June 2026, as domestic refinery receipts fell from 4.3 million litres per day in May to 2.5 million litres per day, a decline of 1.8 million litres per day or 41.9 per cent.
Throughout the 13 months, no aviation fuel imports by Oil Marketing Companies were recorded, indicating that 100 per cent of Nigeria’s reported ATK receipts came from domestic refineries.
Industry data further showed that aviation fuel consumption remained relatively stable despite fluctuations in refinery receipts.
Consumption stood at 3.5 million litres per day in January before declining to 2.9 million litres per day in February. It fell further to 2.1 million litres per day in March before rising to 2.5 million litres per day in April and increasing to 3.1 million litres per day in May. Consumption moderated again to 2.9 million litres per day in June, representing a six per cent decline compared to the previous month.
The latest NMDPRA daily consumption figures also showed that aviation fuel demand averaged about 2.9 million litres per day, close to the country’s 2026 benchmark demand of three million litres daily.
The regulator noted that petroleum product consumption figures are based on volumes trucked into the domestic market.
The report also showed that ATK supply rose from 2.6 million litres per day in April to 3.6 million litres per day in May, representing an increase of about 38.5 per cent during that reporting cycle.
The disappearance of aviation fuel imports underscores the growing contribution of domestic refining following the commencement and expansion of operations at new and rehabilitated refineries across the country.
For years, Nigeria depended almost entirely on imported aviation fuel, exposing airlines to exchange rate volatility, high logistics costs and periodic supply disruptions. The growing role of local refineries is expected to improve product availability, shorten supply chains and reduce the country’s dependence on imported petroleum products.
The development also aligns with the Federal Government’s broader objective of achieving energy security through increased domestic refining capacity while conserving foreign exchange previously spent on importing refined petroleum products.
Although monthly refinery receipts remained volatile, the absence of imported ATK throughout the review period suggests that local production has become sufficiently established to support Nigeria’s aviation fuel requirements, with consumption largely hovering around the country’s daily benchmark demand of three million litres.
The development comes against the backdrop of a sharp increase in aviation fuel prices that recently pushed up the cost of air travel in Nigeria.
In March 2026, Jet A-1 prices rose from about N900 per litre in January to N2,557 per litre by the end of March, representing an increase of 184 per cent. The surge, which was linked to disruptions in the global oil market following the Middle East crisis, placed significant pressure on airlines because aviation fuel accounts for about 40 per cent of their operating costs.
Although intense competition initially prevented carriers from immediately passing the higher cost to passengers, domestic airfares later rose to N200,000 and above for one-hour, one-way flights as Jet A-1 prices remained between N1,750 and N2,650 per litre.
The sharp increase in airfares intensified calls for a more reliable and affordable domestic supply of aviation fuel.
The latest supply figures, showing that domestic refineries accounted for all recorded ATK receipts between June 2025 and June 2026, could provide some relief to the aviation industry by reducing its exposure to imported fuel and foreign exchange volatility.
However, the significant month-to-month swings in local receipts, from a record 14 million litres per day in December 2025 to 2.5 million litres per day in June 2026, show that supply stability remains as important as domestic production.
Courtesy – The Punch
The United Arab Emirates’ state-owned oil giant ADNOC said Saturday one of its vessels came under attack in the Hormuz strait, the latest incident in the waterway at the centre of the US-Iran conflict.
Tehran has imposed an effective blockade of the strait, a vital shipping route for global energy supplies, carrying out strikes on commercial ships since the war began in February.
The Islamic republic has said it wants to charge users for passage, which Washington fiercely opposes.
The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) “confirmed that one of its vessels was attacked while transiting the Strait of Hormuz on the evening of Friday, August 14”, according to the official WAM news agency, but reported no injuries.
In its statement, ADNOC stressed the importance of protecting seafarers and safeguarding freedom of navigation and maritime security.
After the attack, UAE presidential adviser Anwar Gargash said the Gulf state would defend its “rights to freedom of navigation” in the Strait of Hormuz.
“The repeated targeting of ADNOC tankers will not deter the UAE from pursuing a balanced and prudent policy based on the three pillars of deterrence, diplomacy, and adherence to international law,” he wrote in a post on X.
“We will exert every effort to strengthen a unified Gulf position, as it is a fundamental pillar for protecting the security of the region and the interests of its member states in this ongoing crisis.”
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The announcement came a day after the UAE accused Iran of attacking two vessels linked to ADNOC as they passed through the strait.
The UAE foreign ministry condemned what it called a “hostile Iranian attack” on the vessels and said no injuries had been reported.
Last week, ADNOC reported that three of its tankers had been attacked in the waterway, while the Emirati foreign ministry separately announced an attack on another ADNOC tanker a day later.
Continued attacks in the strait, which was free to transit before the Middle East war began, led to the collapse of an April ceasefire between the United States and Iran.
A June deal — meant to serve as a jumping-off point for negotiations on a permanent settlement — had said Iran and Oman, also bordering the waterway, would hash out future arrangements for the strait in discussion with other Gulf countries and “in line with the applicable international law”.
Last week, Iranian official Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr set out a series of conditions for reopening the strait fully, including an end to what he described as war against Iran and its regional allies, the lifting of sanctions and compensation for wartime damage.
Courtesy – AFP
In the bid to ease crude oil offtake by domestic refiners, address pricing and logistics challenges, the Nigerian government is taking a look at proposals for direct crude supplies and discounts to domestic refineries.
The Crude Oil Refinery-owners Association of Nigeria (CORAN), revealed that the proposals touch on allowing producers to deliver crude directly to nearby refineries and granting refiners a discount for transportation and handling costs embedded in the price of crude.
This was disclosed in a report by Reuters on Wednesday.
The report read, “The Federal Government is considering changes to crude allocation and pricing rules to improve feedstock access for its refiners, including Dangote Refinery.”
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The review comes as compliance with the domestic crude supply framework improved sharply in the second quarter of 2026, although refiners continue to complain that the cost and structure of domestic crude transactions make locally sourced feedstock expensive.
A spokesperson for CORAN, Eche Idoko, told Reuters that one of the proposals would enable producers, particularly those operating within international oil companies’ networks, to deliver crude directly to refineries located close to their production facilities.
Under the arrangement, the crude volumes could subsequently be reconciled at the relevant terminal, potentially reducing the need to transport the crude through longer trunkline routes.
Idoko said the proposal would bring crude closer to refineries while reducing some of the logistics costs associated with domestic supply. A second proposal would address the pricing component of domestic crude transactions.
Under the arrangement, refiners that lift crude directly from production facilities could receive a discount corresponding to freight and handling costs incorporated into the Brent-linked price of crude but which the refiners do not actually incur.
Idoko described the proposed arrangement as beneficial to both sides of the transaction. “Under one proposal, a producer linked to an IOC’s network could deliver crude directly to a nearby refinery, with volumes reconciled later at the terminal.
“This would reduce reliance on trunklines and bring crude closer to refiners. A second proposal would allow refiners that lift crude directly from production facilities to receive a discount reflecting the freight and handling costs embedded in Brent-linked pricing but not actually incurred by them. This could be a win-win for both the producers and refiners,” the report noted.
The proposed changes are coming against the backdrop of complaints by local refiners that the pricing structure for domestic crude makes their feedstock more expensive than necessary.
Recall that the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals (DPRP) had estimated that Nigeria’s pricing structure could add between $3 and $4 per barrel to the cost of crude purchased by domestic refiners because transactions are often routed through trading arms of producers.
Energy analysts have similarly identified pricing, rather than the physical availability of crude, as one of the major challenges facing domestic refiners. The issue is particularly significant for the Dangote Refinery, Africa’s largest refinery, which has a nameplate capacity of 700,000 barrels per day.
Although the refinery has significantly increased its operations, securing adequate volumes of locally produced crude at competitive prices remains a key issue for the development of Nigeria’s refining industry.
Nigeria has met and exceeded its Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) quota of 1.5mbpd for the third consecutive month.
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday.
The statement has it that in July 2026, Nigeria produced 1.505mbpd of crude oil and 0.17mbpd of condensate, making combined daily production to 1.67mbpd.
During the month under review, the daily peak production of crude oil and condensate was 1.78mbpd, while the lowest daily production was 1.57mbpd.
Although Nigeria met its OPEC quota in July, the statistics show that, on a month-on-month basis, production fell by 4 per cent.
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The NUPRC attributed the decline in production to operational challenges at the Erha and Akpo fields, which affected output during the period under review.
These disruptions constrained production volumes and contributed significantly to the overall reduction in national crude oil output.
Despite the challenges, production operations across most other producing assets remained relatively stable, with operators implementing measures to maintain production efficiency and minimise the impact of operational constraints.
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