Petrol imports hit 4 year high in March 2018

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) report on Petroleum Products Importation and Consumption for the first quarter ended March 2018, shows the volume of petrol imported into the country hit a 4 year high of 2.4 billion litres in March 2018.

The volume imported is also the highest recorded so far this year.

Prior to this, the highest volume of petrol imported into the country was 2.1 billion litres recorded in May 2014.

Here are key highlights from the report

• 5.67 billion litres of premium motor spirits was imported into the country in Q1 2018.
• 954.47 million litres of automotive gas oil (AGO) was imported in Q1 2018.
• 66.914 million litres of household kerosene (HHK) was imported in Q1 2018.
• 5.1 million litres of aviation turbine kerosene (ATK) was imported into the country in Q1 2018
• March 2018 recorded the highest volumes of premium motor spirits (PMS) imported into the country at 2.41 billion litres.
• February 2018 was the month in which the highest quantity of automotive gas oil (diesel) was imported into the country at 340 million litres.
• House hold kerosene imported into the country declined sharply from 34.2 million litres in January to 5.4 million litres in March 2018, the lowest so far this year.

Mixed fortunes for listed companies.

The increased volumes have however not translated to increased revenue for the companies listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

This reflects the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) could be importing a large proportion of the products as well as the decline in the average price of petrol.

Q1 2018 results for Total Plc show revenue from petroleum products dropped from N62.8 billion in 2017 to N30.2 billion in 2018.

Q1 2018 results for MRS Oil Plc show revenue from the sale of petroleum products increased from N36.3 billion in 2017 to N32,3 billion in 2018.

Eterna Oil Plc’s revenue dropped slightly from N12.8 billion in Q1 2017 to N11.4 billion in Q1 2018.

11 Plc (formerly known as Mobil Oil ) was, however, an outlier as revenue from petroleum products increased from N25.1 billion in 2017 to N45 billion in 2018.