The moment Nigeria’s energy sector had been building toward for years — a net petrol export position — has suffered its first material setback, with May import volumes surging to their highest level in four months after a critical production unit at the Dangote Refinery went down for maintenance, exposing exactly how thin the buffer between domestic sufficiency and import dependency still is.
New market data from Argus Media showed petrol deliveries into Nigeria averaged 57,000 barrels per day in May, while exports stood at 23,000 barrels per day. The swing from net exporter to net importer was swift and decisive — reversing the position Nigeria had held in March and April, when domestic supply had, for the first time in the country’s modern petroleum history, comfortably exceeded import volumes.
The culprit was maintenance on the Residual Fluid Catalytic Cracker (RFCC) at Dangote’s 700,000-barrel-per-day Lekki facility. The RFCC is the central gasoline-producing unit in any modern refinery, and its temporary withdrawal from service had an immediate and direct impact on petrol output — creating a supply gap that marketers moved quickly to plug through European imports.
Europe supplied Nigeria’s entire import requirement in May. Norway led the way as the largest supplier, followed by Italy and France — a trading pattern that illustrates how seamlessly Atlantic basin refiners can redirect cargo flows toward African demand when the opportunity presents itself.
The import data also produced a striking paradox at the heart of Nigeria’s new energy economics: both NNPC Limited and Dangote Refinery were simultaneously importing petrol. NNPC brought in approximately 11,000 barrels per day during the month; Dangote itself accounted for 27,000 barrels per day — making the refinery both the country’s largest domestic petrol producer and its largest single importer within the same calendar month. The figure is less a contradiction than a commercial reality: refinery operators globally import feedstock and finished product to maintain supply continuity during maintenance windows.
Several independent marketers — AA Rano, AYM Shafa, Bono, Matrix, NIPCO and Pinnacle — received import permits from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) as part of the quarter’s approved import allocation framework. Despite the temporary disruption, refinery operations at Lekki continued, with significant volumes of blending materials and feedstock delivered to the facility throughout the month. The RFCC maintenance was expected to be short in duration, and domestic production is set to resume its upward trajectory once the unit returns to full operation.
Source: thisdaylive.com