Nigeria’s Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals exported an estimated 1.66 billion litres of refined petroleum products in April 2026, reinforcing the country’s emergence as a major fuel export hub amid escalating geopolitical tensions between the United States and Iran.
A document from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA)cited on Tuesday showed that the refinery exported approximately 513 million litres of petrol, 534 million litres of diesel, and 615 million litres of aviation fuel during the month.
The surge in exports comes as global energy markets face renewed uncertainty over the security of the Strait of Hormuz — a critical shipping corridor for global oil and fuel supplies — following worsening diplomatic tensions involving the US and Iran.
Dangote Refinery Emerges as Strategic Supplier
The 650,000-barrel-per-day refinery located in Lekki is currently Nigeria’s only large-scale operational refinery producing sufficient volumes for both domestic consumption and exports.
The April figures represent the refinery’s strongest export performance since operations began, with total shipments averaging about 55.4 million litres per day.
Industry analysts say the development highlights Nigeria’s growing importance in global refined fuel markets as buyers seek alternative suppliers outside the Middle East.
With concerns mounting over potential supply disruptions in the Gulf region, demand for refined products from Africa has strengthened, particularly across Europe, West Africa and parts of Asia.
Nigeria Moves Toward Net Fuel Exporter Status
The latest export data further underscores Nigeria’s transition from one of Africa’s largest fuel importers to a significant exporter of refined petroleum products.
According to the NMDPRA report, domestic refineries operated at an average utilisation rate of 99.12 per cent in April, with the Dangote refinery reportedly running at full capacity for most of the month.
The regulator also disclosed that Nigerian refineries received 18.37 million barrels of crude oil in April, up sharply from 13.11 million barrels in March.
Despite increased exports, the refinery maintained substantial domestic supply commitments. Average daily petrol production stood at 53.6 million litres, with about 40.7 million litres supplied locally and 17.1 million litres exported each day.
Diesel exports averaged 17.8 million litres daily, more than double domestic supply volumes, while aviation fuel exports reached 20.5 million litres per day compared to local demand of 2.6 million litres daily.
Global Aviation Fuel Demand Boosts Exports
The refinery’s aviation fuel exports have become particularly significant as international airlines and fuel traders seek alternative supply routes amid instability in the Middle East.
The Strait of Hormuz remains one of the world’s most strategically important energy corridors, handling a substantial share of global crude oil and refined fuel shipments. Any prolonged disruption could tighten global supply chains and push fuel prices higher.
Analysts believe Nigeria could further expand jet fuel exports if geopolitical tensions persist and traditional Middle Eastern supply channels remain vulnerable.
High Crude Prices Continue to Pressure Domestic Fuel Costs
Despite rising domestic refining activity, fuel prices in Nigeria remained elevated in April due to high global crude oil prices.
The NMDPRA reported that international crude prices averaged $120.55 per barrel during the month, while global gasoline prices stood at about $1,074.97 per metric tonne.
Nigeria consumed an average of 51.1 million litres of petrol daily during the period, alongside 17.3 million litres of diesel and 2.5 million litres of aviation fuel.
The continued expansion of exports from the Dangote refinery is expected to strengthen Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings and improve energy security as global fuel trade patterns evolve in response to geopolitical instability.
However, the NMDPRA has continued issuing petrol import licences, indicating that the country still relies partly on imported fuel supplies despite growing local refining capacity
Meanwhile,the federal government, represented by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) and International Oil Companies (IOCs) in Nigeria increased crude oil supply to domestic refineries, led by the Dangote Refinery, by over 103 per cent between January and April 2026,.
An analysis of the data further showed that crude supplied locally to domestic refineries rose from 8.83 million barrels in January to 17.96 million barrels in April, reflecting a rise of 103.4 per cent.
In contrast, imported crude and feedstock supplied to the refineries dropped from 9.43 million barrels in March to just 0.41 million barrels in April, representing a decline of approximately 95.6 per cent within the period.
The data underscored a major shift in Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector as the Dangote refinery increasingly relies on locally supplied crude oil for the production of refined petroleum products, especially Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol.
Overall crude receipts by domestic refineries stood at 20.92 million barrels in March before declining to 18.37 million barrels in April. However, the structure of refinery feedstock changed significantly during the four-month period.
The NMDPRA data also showed that local supply of petrol rose substantially during the period, reflecting increased production from the Dangote refinery, currently the only refinery producing PMS in Nigeria.
According to the report, domestic petrol supply rose from 34.2 million litres per day in March to 40.7 million litres per day in April, indicating an increase of approximately 19 per cent. At the same time, imported petrol products volumes declined from 5.9 million litres daily in January to 3.7 million litres daily in April, representing a drop of about 37.3 per cent.
The figures indicated that locally refined petrol is steadily displacing imported fuel in the Nigerian market as output from the Dangote refinery expands.
The NMDPRA data disclosed that average refinery capacity utilisation by the Dangote refinery reached 99.12 per cent in April, achieving 100 per cent utilisation “for most of the days in April.”
The sharp increase in crude allocation to domestic refineries reflected improved collaboration among upstream producers, regulators and refiners following persistent concerns over inadequate crude supply for local processing.
The increase in local refining came amid elevated global crude prices triggered by geopolitical tensions involving Iran and the United States.
According to the NMDPRA report, dated Brent crude averaged $120.55 per barrel in April, while international petrol prices rose to $1,074.97 per metric tonne during the month. The increase in global oil prices translated into higher domestic petrol prices across the country despite the rise in local refining activity.
The report showed that average actual pump prices stood at N1,271.50 per litre in Lagos, N1,326 per litre in Abuja, N1,340 in Kano and N1,371.50 in Maiduguri during April. Maximum retail prices reached N1,400 per litre in Sokoto and N1,413 per litre in Maiduguri.
Despite the increase in fuel prices, petrol demand remained relatively resilient. The NMDPRA stated that average daily petrol truck-out into the domestic market stood at 51.1 million litres in April, slightly above the agency’s benchmark national consumption estimate of 50 million litres per day.
Petrol production averaged 53.6 million litres daily during the month, while domestic PMS supply stood at 40.7 million litres daily. Besides, diesel production averaged 23.6 million litres per day, while aviation fuel production stood at 22.9 million litres daily.
Nigeria’s fuel reserve position also remained stable during the period despite volatility in international oil markets. According to the report, the country maintained average stock sufficiency levels of 18 days for petrol, 39 days for diesel and 70 days for aviation fuel in April.
The report further showed that the three modular refineries currently in operation, namely WalterSmith Refinery, Edo Refinery and Aradel Holdings continued to produce diesel during the month.
Collectively, the modular refineries supplied an average of 0.559 million litres of diesel daily in April. WalterSmith operated at 56.14 per cent capacity utilisation and produced 0.250 million litres of diesel daily, while Edo Refinery achieved 79.20 per cent utilisation with output of 0.086 million litres daily. Aradel operated at 33.95 per cent utilisation with production of 0.181 million litres daily.
In the gas sector, total average gas supply stood at 5.142 billion standard cubic feet per day (Bscf/d) in April. Out of the volume, 2.012 Bscf/d was supplied to the domestic market. Also, gas supplied to the power sector averaged 0.549 Bscf/d, while commercial consumers utilised 0.671 Bscf/d and gas-based industries consumed 0.468 Bscf/d.
Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) supply averaged 4,545 metric tonnes daily, while consumption stood at 4,818 metric tonnes daily. Retail LPG prices ranged between N1,100 and N1,450 per kilogramme during the period.
