• Dangote Refinery supplied 40.7ml/d to the domestic market,  exported 17.1ml/d

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has revealed that in April 2026, Nigeria met 99.2 per cent of its Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) crude oil production quota of 1.5mb/d.

This was revealed in the X handle of the commission, which stressed that the output rose to 1.48b/d of crude oil and 174,873b/d of condensate.

The total crude oil and condensate production, according to NUPRC, was 1.66mb/d.

“Nigeria’s production increased in the month of April to 1,488,540 barrels of crude oil and 174,873 barrels of condensates totaling 1, 663, 413 barrels per day. This implies that Nigeria met 99.2 per cent of its 1.5mbpd OPEC quota of crude oil.”

The report revealed the that the figure also represents a 7.58 per cent increase when compared to the month of March. NUPRC said the peak production in April was 1.85mbpd while the lowest production for the month was 1.46mbpd.

In a related development, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) in its April 2026 Factsheet released yesterday, said domestic consumption of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) or petrol rose to 51.1ml/d in April compared to the 47.3ml/d recorded in March 2026.

In this period, 40.7ml/d were supplied from the domestic refineries, while 3.7ml/d were imported compared to 34.2ml/d that was supplied from domestic refineries in March as well as the 5.9ml/d that was imported in the same period. Stock sufficiency, however, reduced to 17.7 days from the 15.5 days in the previous month.

According to the NMDPRA, in the period under review, Dangote Refinery Petrochemicals Company (DRPC) achieved 100 percent capacity utilisation for most of the days in April with an average of 99.12 per cent capacity utilisation.

According to the factsheet, the refinery produced 53.6ml/d of petrol, supplied 40.7ml/d to the domestic market and exported 17.1ml/d.

Equally, in the same period, Dangote produced 23.6ml/d of diesel, supplied 8.0ml/d to the domestic market and exported 17.8ml/d. Similarly, the refinery produced 22.9ml/d of aviation kerosene, supplied 2.6ml/d to the domestic market and exported 20.5ml/d.

Dangote, according to the factsheet, recorded 18 days sufficiency of petrol, 39 days of diesel, 70 days of aviation fuel, and 13 days of LPG.

On the other hand, NMDPRA said the Nigerian National Petroleum Company refineries, which are state-owned were shutdown in April.

According to the factsheet, Warri Petroleum Refinery Company (WRPC) and Kaduna Refinery Company (KRPC) were recorded zero production.

On the daily consumption benchmarks, NMDPRA said in April, the benchmark for petrol was 51.1ml/d, diesel 17.3ml/d, aviation fuel 2.6ml/d and 4.8KT/day of domestic gas.

On crude oil, NMDPRA said the volume supplied to domestic refineries decreased to 0.612mb/d from the 0.674mb/d recorded in March.

Nigeria recorded a historic shift in its downstream petroleum trade in March, emerging as a net exporter of gasoline for the first time, driven largely by rising output from the Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals.

Data from market intelligence firm, Kpler, showed that gasoline (petrol) imports into the country dropped sharply to 41,000 barrels per day (bpd) in the month of March, the lowest level on record. At the same time, crude supply to the

Dangote facility rose to about 565,000 bpd, the second-highest intake since the 650,000 bpd refinery commenced operations in late 2023, indicating strong processing rates and increased product yield.
Total gasoline exports from the Dangote Refinery rose to 44,000 bpd in March, compared to no exports recorded in January and February. This shift enabled Nigeria to post a net export position of approximately 3,000 bpd for the month in review.

In expanding its market reach, the Dangote Refinery exported gasoline to East Africa for the first time, shipping a 317,000-barrel cargo to Mozambique. The move reflects growing demand in the region as buyers seek alternatives to Middle East Gulf supplies amid ongoing disruptions. Another April shipment from the refinery is also bound for Beira, Mozambique.

Nigeria’s emergence as a gasoline exporter is expected to reshape regional trade flows and intensify competition in global markets. Analysts note that the development adds pressure to Europe’s already oversupplied gasoline market, as Nigeria transitions from a key import destination to a potential competing supplier.

The March milestone signals a significant step in Nigeria’s drive towards self-sufficiency in refined petroleum products and its ambition to become a net exporter in the global energy market.

President/Chief Executive, Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, recently described President Bola Tinubu’s ongoing economic and energy sector reforms as critical to restoring market confidence and enabling large-scale investments in domestic refining.

The Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, Amina Mohammed, has underscored the strategic importance of Dangote Industries Limited -particularly Dangote Fertiliser Limited—in addressing Africa’s mounting food security challenges, while calling for stronger global partnerships to scale its impact.

Speaking during a visit to the company’s industrial complex in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos, Mohammed said the United Nations would prioritise amplifying scalable solutions capable of mitigating the continent’s food crisis, describing Dangote’s integrated industrial model as a critical pathway.

“I think the UN’s job here is to amplify and to put visibility on the possibilities of mitigating a food security crisis, and this is one of them,” she said. “I hope that when we go back, we can continue to engage partners and countries that should collaborate with Dangote Industries.”

Her remarks comes at a time of heightened concern over food shortages and supply chain disruptions across Africa, driven by global economic pressures, climate-related shocks and geopolitical tensions, particularly in the Middle East.

The President/Chief Executive, Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, said the group has ramped up exports of urea and Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) to African markets affected by supply disruptions arising from the crisis.
Noting the widening impact of the situation across the continent, Dangote said the company has intensified shipments of fertiliser to support agricultural productivity and ease supply constraints.

“The challenges are many. One is of urea, which is fertiliser that we have. I think in the last couple of days we’ve been loading to mostly African countries, which we were not doing before,” he said. “And then now it’s to do with petroleum products, which we are now sending mainly to African countries,” Dangote said.

He added that the refinery has shipped about 17 cargoes of petrol to African countries to cushion the impact of the crisis, leveraging its 650,000 barrels per day capacity to stabilise supply across multiple regions.

“What I can do is assure Nigerians … and most of West Africa, Central Africa, and East Africa, we have the capacity to supply them,” Dangote said.

On feedstock supply, Dangote commended the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited for increasing crude deliveries to the refinery in March, noting that volumes rose to 10 cargoes—six supplied in naira and four in dollars—to support domestic fuel availability.

“Last month, they gave us six cargoes for naira and four cargoes for dollars,” he said.

Despite the improvement, the supply remains below the 19 cargoes required for optimal operations, with the refinery continuing to bridge the gap through imports from the United States and other African producers.

Dangote also expressed concern over the unwillingness by international oil companies operating in Nigeria to sell to the refinery, stating that their preference for selling crude to traders forces it to repurchase at higher costs, with broader implications for the economy.

He added that the refinery is seeking increased access to domestically priced crude under local currency arrangements as part of efforts to moderate fuel costs and enhance long-term energy and food security across the continent.