Seven vessels carrying imported Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, are scheduled to arrive at Nigerian seaports between March 17-23, 2025, according to documents obtained from the Nigerian Port Authority.

These vessels are transporting 115,000 metric tonnes (equivalent to 154.22 million liters) of fuel through three seaports: Tincan and Lekki Deep Seaport in Lagos, and Calabar port in Cross River State. This increase in imports comes as the landing cost of imported PMS has reportedly decreased to N797 per liter.

The surge in imports coincides with the Dangote Petroleum Refinery's suspension of petroleum product sales in naira, following stalled renegotiations of the naira-for-crude agreement with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.

Domestic refiners have expressed concerns, with Eche Idoko, National Publicity Secretary of the Crude Oil Refinery-owners Association of Nigeria, suggesting this development could undermine efforts toward achieving energy security. Some industry observers believe certain stakeholders are displeased with Dangote's price reductions and are using "monopolistic talks" to justify returning to full importation.

Despite improving local refining capacity, Nigeria continues to rely heavily on imports. The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority recently confirmed that the country's three operational refineries produce less than 50% of daily petrol consumption, with the deficit filled by imports.

The NPA document also revealed that during the same period, the Dangote refinery imported 654,766 metric tonnes of crude oil.

The scheduled vessel arrivals include:

- March 17: Three vessels (20,000 metric tonnes each) at Dangote terminal, Tincan, and Calabar seaports

- March 20: Watson vessel (20,000 metric tonnes) at Ecomarine terminal

- March 21: Binta Saleh ship (5,000 metric tonnes) at Tincan port

- March 22: 15,000 metric tonnes vessel at Calabar port

- March 23: 15,000 metric tonnes vessel at Eco marine terminal

Meanwhile, depot owners continue to increase petrol loading costs. Recent data shows price increases at several major depots, including Rainoil, MEN, Pinnacle, Aiteo, and Nipco, with prices rising from N835 to approximately N860 per liter.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Additional materials from Punch