NMDPRA says Refineries near full capacity

Barbara Bako, Abuja

The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) says domestic refining activities strengthened significantly in April 2026, with average refinery capacity utilisation rising to 99.12 per cent amid sustained fuel supply across the country.

This was contained in the Authority’s April 2026 fact sheet on midstream and downstream petroleum operations.

According to the report, crude oil supply to domestic refineries continued to improve during the month, with the Dangote Refinery reportedly achieving 100 per cent capacity utilisation for most days in April.

The report showed that Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, recorded domestic supply of 40.7 million litres per day, while diesel supply stood at 8.0 million litres per day and aviation fuel supply at 2.6 million litres daily.

Petrol production was put at 53.6 million litres per day, with exports estimated at 17.1 million litres daily.

NMDPRA further disclosed that the country’s three operational modular refineries; WalterSmith, Edo Refinery and Aradel, supplied an average of 0.559 million litres of diesel daily in April 2026.

WalterSmith recorded 56.14 per cent capacity utilisation, while Edo Refinery and Aradel posted 79.20 per cent and 33.95 per cent respectively.

On fuel consumption, the Authority said average daily petrol consumption in April stood at 51.1 million litres, while diesel consumption reached 17.3 million litres daily.

Aviation fuel consumption averaged 2.5 million litres per day, while Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) consumption stood at 4.8 kilotonnes daily.

The report also indicated that the country maintained healthy fuel sufficiency levels during the period, with petrol stock projected to last 18 days, diesel 39 days, aviation fuel 70 days and LPG 13 days.

On pump prices, NMDPRA said the average actual petrol price in April ranged from N1,271.50 per litre in Lagos to N1,371.50 per litre in Maiduguri.

Abuja recorded an average pump price of N1,326 per litre, while Kano stood at N1,340 per litre.

The Authority attributed the pricing trend partly to the average Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market rate of N1,361.22 to the dollar during the review period, as well as international crude oil prices, which averaged $120.55 per barrel.

In the gas segment, NMDPRA said average daily gas supply in April 2026 reached 5.142 billion standard cubic feet per day (Bscf/day), comprising 3.129 Bscf/day supplied to the domestic market and 2.012 Bscf/day supplied to the Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG).

The report added that gas supplied to the power sector averaged 0.671 Bscf/day, while gas based industries and commercial users received 0.549 Bscf/day and 0.468 Bscf/day respectively.

On LPG supply, the Authority said average domestic supply stood at 4,545 metric tonnes daily against average consumption of 4,818 metric tonnes per day, with retail prices ranging between N1,100 and N1,450 per kilogramme in April 2026.