Nigeria’s daily diesel receipts dropped to 8.7 million litres in September 2026, their lowest level in 13 months, as both domestic supplies and imports declined, according to data from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).
The regulator’s September factsheet showed that daily receipts fell by 40 per cent from 14.5 million litres in August. Domestic supplies declined by 39 per cent to 8.1 million litres per day, while imports by oil marketers dropped by 54 per cent to 600,000 litres daily.
The latest decline extended a downward trend that began in August, when diesel receipts fell 39 per cent from July’s 23.6 million litres per day. September’s volume was 63 per cent below the July level.
Diesel Consumption Rises Despite Lower Receipts
Despite the reduction in incoming supplies, daily diesel consumption increased by one per cent to 14.5 million litres in September, exceeding NMDPRA’s daily demand benchmark of 14 million litres.
Dangote Petroleum Refinery produced an average of 24.32 million litres of diesel daily during the month. Of this amount, 8.14 million litres went to the domestic market, while 15.91 million litres were exported. The refinery also added 270,000 litres to its stocks each day.
The refinery operated at 105.98 per cent of its installed crude-processing capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, processing approximately 689,000 barrels daily against crude receipts of 618,000 barrels. The additional volume was drawn from existing refinery inventories.
Diesel Stocks Remain Above Regulatory Benchmark
Although receipts declined sharply, Nigeria’s diesel inventory remained above the regulator’s minimum stock-sufficiency threshold.
NMDPRA reported that diesel stocks could cover 49.7 days of demand in September, down from 51.6 days in August but still comfortably above the required 30-day benchmark.
Modular refineries supplied an average of 620,000 litres of diesel daily, representing 4.3 per cent of domestic consumption. Aradel and OPAC operated below optimal capacity because of feedstock constraints and maintenance shutdowns.
The diesel market’s contraction coincided with a decline in petrol receipts. Daily petrol supplies fell by 23 per cent to 38.7 million litres in September from 50.5 million litres in August, as domestic supplies and imports weakened.
The figures highlight a widening gap between diesel production, exports and the volumes entering Nigeria’s domestic market. Despite strong output from Dangote Refinery, lower domestic deliveries and imports pushed total diesel receipts to their lowest level in more than a year.
