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By Ayo Kehinde
As of July 2026, Nigeria’s diesel supply remained dependent on imports, with oil marketing companies importing 244.9 million liters of automotive diesel, popularly known as diesel, as modular refineries only contributed a share of domestic production.
The data was contained in the midstream and downstream statistics for July 2026 published by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority.
Total diesel supply averaged 23.6 million liters per day during the month, or about 731.6 million liters over 31 days.
Domestic refineries, including Dangote and other plants, supplied 486.7 million litres, while imports accounted for 244.9 million litres.
Modular refineries contributed 18.35 million liters, or about 2.5% of the total diesel supply.
WalterSmith recorded the highest average daily supply among modular refineries at 341,000 litres, with capacity utilization of 70.42%.
Aradel supplied 144,000 liters per day with a capacity utilization of 36.32%, while the Edo refinery supplied 107,000 liters per day and recorded the highest utilization rate at 95.72%.
The OPCW supplied 7,000 liters per day, with a capacity utilization of 0.86%, while the Duport refinery was declared closed.
The performance highlights the limited contribution of modular refineries despite efforts to expand domestic refining and reduce dependence on imported petroleum products.
The situation was aggravated by the absence of production from NNPC’s three refineries. Port Harcourt Refining Company was declared closed in June and July, while Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company and Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company were both listed as non-producers.
The weak performance renewed concerns about access to raw feedstock for smaller domestic refiners.
The Crude Oil Refineries Association of Nigeria said modular refineries could supply more than 10% of Nigeria’s diesel needs if they had adequate crude oil.
CORAN Publicity Secretary, Eche Idoko, said the contribution does not reflect the real capacity of the sector.
“Our capacity is above 2%. We have the capacity to produce up to 10% of our current diesel needs, or 15%, if we have enough crude supply,” he said.
Idoko said the association has repeatedly sought to extend the naira-for-grede agreement to modular refineries, but the request is yet to be implemented.
“We have been advocating; we have been advocating for the naira for crude oil deal to be extended to modular refineries. Nothing has been done so far,” he said.
He said facilities such as OPCW are operating well below their potential due to inadequate raw materials.
July data shows that while domestic refineries remained the main source of diesel supply, imports still accounted for about a third of total revenue.
Nigeria also recorded average daily receipts of 45.5 million liters of petrol and 1.9 million liters of jet fuel during the month, while liquefied petroleum gas receipts averaged 5.3 thousand tonnes per day.
The data highlights the gap between Nigeria’s ambition to deepen domestic refining and the ability of smaller refineries to meet fuel demand.
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