No fewer than four vessels carrying imported Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, arrived at Nigerian seaports between Friday, October 18, and Sunday, October 20, in a move aimed at bolstering fuel supply across the country. This was confirmed by documents from the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) obtained on Sunday.
According to the documents, approximately 123.4 million litres of PMS were offloaded at two major seaports, marking a significant step toward addressing the nation’s fuel demand. This aligns with recent reports suggesting that oil marketers are supplementing supplies from the Dangote Petroleum Refinery due to insufficient production from the new Lekki-based facility.
Reports had earlier revealed that the Dangote Refinery, which was expected to produce 25 million litres of petrol daily, is currently producing only around 10 million litres per day. Consequently, oil marketers have resorted to importing additional PMS to close the gap in domestic fuel supply.
In September, VOP reported that oil marketers imported around 141 million litres of PMS after an increase in pump prices of petrol produced by the Dangote Refinery and distributed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL). The full deregulation of the downstream oil sector has allowed for more flexible importation by licensed marketers.
The recent imports were divided between the Apapa port in Lagos and the Calabar port in Cross River State. At the Apapa port, the first vessel carrying 35,000 metric tonnes of PMS berthed at the ASPM jetty on Friday, October 18, at 10:13 am. This was followed by another vessel with 37,000 metric tonnes, which arrived at 3:37 pm. A third shipment of 10,000 metric tonnes was berthed later the same day at 3:59 pm.
Meanwhile, at the Calabar port, a vessel carrying 10,000 metric tonnes of PMS arrived at the Eco Marine Terminal on Sunday, October 20, at 8:02 am. In total, the four vessels brought in 92,000 metric tonnes of PMS, which translates to roughly 123.4 million litres based on a conversion rate of 1,341 litres per metric tonne.
When asked about the import process, George Ene-Ita, spokesperson for the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), emphasized that all PMS imports must undergo rigorous testing. “The products must be subjected to our testing protocols at the ports to ensure they meet stipulated standards before being released to the market,” he explained. Ene-Ita further noted that tests are conducted both at the point of origin and upon arrival to ensure quality compliance.
The arrival of these shipments is expected to ease fuel supply concerns across the country, as the industry continues to adjust to the realities of domestic production from the Dangote Refinery and ongoing imports from marketers.