The value of Nigeria’s import of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) popularly called petrol in the second quarter of 2024 rose to N3.22 trillion- the highest on record in the nation’s history.
This is according to the foreign trade report published by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
Imports of petrol in the second quarter of 2024 constituted 25% of total imports in the period. Furthermore, the N3.2 trillion petrol import bill in Q1 2024 marks a 100% increase in the value of petrol import compared to the same period of 2023 which stood at N1.6 trillion.
In the first quarter of 2024 so far, the value of petrol imports reached N2.6 trillion while cumulatively in the first six months of the year, the country’s petrol import bill stood at N5.8 trillion.
When compared to the same period of 2023, the country’s petrol import bill has increased from N3.1 trillion to N5.8 trillion. This denotes an increase of 87.09% during the period.
The significant increase in petrol imports can be attributed to high crude oil prices coupled with a weakened naira. The naira opened the year exchanging at N907 to the USD. This has depreciated by about N44.43% against USD currently trading at over N1,550.
This is despite the wide volatility witnessed in the forex market with the Naira once regarded as the best-performing currency in the world sometime around April 2024.
The rise in petrol comes amidst the commencement of petrol from the $20 billion Dangote refinery in Lekki, Lagos state. This is after many delays and postponement of operations.
Back and forth between NNPCL and the Dangote refinery
However, the commencement of refining and onward supply of petrol by the Dangote refinery to the Nigerian market has met a brickwall over the pricing of the refinery’s product.
- Earlier on, President Tinubu had approved the sale of crude oil to the Dangote refinery in Naira other than the USD since it’s an international commodity.
- The Dangote refinery and the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Ltd (NNPCL) have been having a back-and-forth on who will distribute or sell to the Nigerian market. Media reports earlier on revealed that the NNPC would be the sole off-taker of petrol from the Dangote refinery.
- However, the NNPC debunked those reports stating that anybody including independent marketers can purchase petrol from the refinery. For now, both the NNPCL and Dangote refinery are discussing the pricing of petrol from the company.
- The issue of pricing has been a controversial one since the NNPCL recently increased the pump price of petrol from over N500 per litre to N897 as part of measures towards reducing its petrol subsidy cost.
