By Onu Okorie

Nigerians consumed an average of 46.3 million litres of petrol every day in May 2026, even as the country recorded a sharp rebound in fuel imports, according to the latest Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Statistics report from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority NMDPRA.

The figure represents a 9.4 percent drop in daily petrol consumption compared with April, suggesting that demand eased even as supply tightened in other parts of the chain. Diesel consumption followed a similar pattern, slipping to 16 million litres per day in May from 17.3 million litres per day the previous month.

Despite the fall in daily consumption, the report shows that Nigeria’s fuel reserves have less cushion than before. Petrol sufficiency — the number of days current stock can meet demand — dropped from 17.7 days to 16 days between April and May. Diesel sufficiency fell more sharply, from 39 days to 31 days, pointing to tighter inventory management across the supply chain even as Nigerians used less fuel per day.

The tighter stock position coincided with a near 60 percent jump in petrol imports, which rose from an average of 3.7 million litres per day in April to 5.9 million litres per day in May. Marketers appear to have turned more to foreign suppliers to fill gaps left by tighter domestic output during the month.

Even with the import rebound, local refineries kept their dominant share of the market. Total national PMS supply rose about 7 percent month-on-month, from 44.4 million litres per day to 47.4 million litres per day, with domestic refineries contributing 41.5 million litres of that total, close to 88 percent of national supply. Despite May’s uptick, petrol imports remain roughly 76 percent below where they stood in January.

A less encouraging signal came from crude oil deliveries into domestic refineries, which fell 5.6 percent month-on-month, from 612,000 barrels per day in April to 578,000 barrels per day in May. The dip has stirred concern among industry watchers about the sector’s ability to sustain refinery output without leaning on imports, particularly after reports that the Dangote Petroleum Refinery — Africa’s largest, temporarily scaled back operating rates at its gasoline unit because of feedstock constraints and technical issues.

Diesel told a different story on the supply side. Output of Automotive Gas Oil AGO jumped 84.3 percent, from 10.2 million litres per day in April to 18.8 million litres per day in May, with the entire volume now coming from domestic refineries. Diesel imports, which stood at 1.7 million litres per day in April, fell to zero in May, a notable milestone for a product that has historically depended heavily on imports.

Jet fuel supply also expanded, with Aviation Turbine Kerosene (ATK) output rising 38.5 percent, from 2.6 million litres per day in April to 3.6 million litres per day in May, a boost that should ease some of the supply pressure that has periodically squeezed Nigerian airlines.

Not every indicator moved in the same direction. Liquefied Petroleum Gas LPG supply dipped 8.9 percent, from 4.5 kilotonnes per day in April to 4.1 kilotonnes per day in May, a decline that could weigh on household energy costs if it persists.