Nigeria’s petrol stock cover stood at 23.9 days in September, below the 30-day benchmark for the seventh consecutive month, as petrol consumption outpaced supply.
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) is in advanced discussions with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) to establish a national strategic petroleum stock scheme to protect the country against supply disruptions and international price shocks.
The Chief Executive, NMDPRA, Dr Rabiu A. Umar, disclosed this in a keynote address, saying the proposed pilot would cover depots in Ibadan, Enugu and Suleja.
He said the immediate target was to raise the country’s petroleum stock cover to between 30 and 45 days before progressing towards a 90-day stockholding guideline.
According to the NMDPRA’s September data, petrol receipts averaged 38.7 million litres per day during the month, while consumption stood at 44.4 million litres per day.
The shortfall meant the country had to rely on existing stocks to meet demand.
Umar said domestic refining had significantly changed Nigeria’s petrol supply structure, with three out of every four litres supplied to the market in the previous month coming from local refineries.
He added that petrol imports had more than halved within a year, although he stressed the need to diversify supply sources because much of the domestic supply currently came from one major refinery.
The authority, he said, would continue supporting modular refineries and work with NNPC towards the return of state owned refineries, while keeping import channels open to address domestic supply shortfalls.
Umar said import licences would be issued based on published criteria and transparent assessments of supply needs.
He also announced plans to review the authority’s licensing processes to reduce delays for businesses. Some licences that currently require annual renewal could be extended to five years where appropriate, while unnecessary application steps would be removed.
The authority also plans to allow applicants to obtain licences remotely, provided they meet the required conditions.
On gas infrastructure, Umar said the Obiafu-Obrikom-Oben pipeline, the Escravos-Lagos Pipeline System midline compressor and the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano pipeline were expected to increase Nigeria’s gas transportation capacity from 2.2 billion cubic feet per day to 4.4 billion cubic feet per day when completed.
He said the projects would improve the movement of gas from supply sources in southern Nigeria to markets in the north.
The authority also launched the second revision of the Nigerian Gas Transportation Network Code, which sets rules for gas transportation, measurement and access to pipeline infrastructure.
Umar said the first revision had attracted more shippers to the network and reduced imbalances on the western network by about 30 per cent.
The NMDPRA is also expanding its petroleum product testing capacity, with its first planned laboratory launched in Port Harcourt. Two additional laboratories are expected before the end of the year, while all nine planned laboratories are targeted to become operational by mid-2027.
