Petrol imports surged by 105.3 per cent, reaching ₦15.42 trillion in 2024, from the ₦7.51 trillion recorded in 2023. This was contained in the latest data on foreign trade statistics released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), on Tuesday.
The development comes despite current increasing domestic refining capacity, and the ongoing rehabilitation of state-owned refineries.
Previously, the country had spent ₦2.01trillion on fuel imports in 2020; in 2021, this figure more rose to ₦4.56 trillion, or 126.9 per cent; ₦7.71 trillion or 69.1 per cent in 2022, before recording a marginal decline of 2.6 per cent to ₦7.51 trillion in 2023.
However, riding on the back of a 40.9 per cent depreciation of the naira, in 2024, the import a 105.3 per cent increase to ₦15.42 trillion, the highest on record.
Despite the rise in local refining, production remains insufficient in meeting demands, necessitating continuous dependence on importation.
Supply chain inefficiencies, and persistent demand-supply imbalances, foreign exchange fluctuations, among other factors, have also militated against meeting local demands, as the rising cost of petrol imports continues to strain government finances and consumer purchasing power.
In December 2024, the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) announced the restart of the 125,000 barrels per day (bpd) Warri Refinery and Petrochemical Company (WRPC), which was approved for rehabilitation in 2021 for $897 million.
The Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC), with a total installed capacity of 210,000bpd, recently restarted operations at its old plant, which currently produces 60,000bpd.
The Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria (MEMAN), may have thrown its weight behind continued importation on the grounds that it fosters competition and potentially stabilising prices.
The Executive Secretary, MEMAN, Clement Isong, said: “What importation does for us is that it contributes to the market competitiveness. The price movements you are enjoying and the market competition are the result of importation. Importation is useful.”
He nonetheless clarified that the Association is not against local refining, and desires it as well, but “what ensures that we have the most competitive price is that locally refined fuel prices have to compete with imported prices. That is what keeps our prices at the pump as low as possible,” he asserted.
Credit: thenationonlineng.net
