Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), often known as petrol, recorded a 10.78 per cent increase in Nigeria’s daily usage despite a rise in worldwide prices to 52.4 million litres in April 2026.
The increase was from 47.3 million litres recorded in March, data just issued by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) observed.
Channels TV adds that the move is as a result of the current situation in the Middle East which has pushed the prices of crude oil up to $106 per barrel as of today.
Iran has virtually sealed off the Strait of Hormuz under its control, disrupting supply and forcing crude oil and fuel vessels to choose alternative routes, eventually resulting in diversion of energy goods.
Local refineries including Dangote have been challenged by crude stock for refining as they rely mostly on imports, the price of which is dependent on the dynamics of the world market.
Petrol pump prices have risen globally and in Nigeria since the Iran/Israel/US war broke out in February, reaching an average of as much as N1,370 per litre in April.
However, the data from NMDPRA revealed that consumption of petrol still increased in April despite the hike in pump prices by roughly 13.8 percent from the average of N1, 180 per litre reported in March.
The regulator’s April 2026 report, released yesterday, said total petrol supply from Dangote Refinery and imports also jumped by 10.7 percent to 44.4 million litres per day in April, from 40.1 million litres per day in March.
Data breakdown showed that supply from the Dangote Refinery rose 19 per cent to 40.7 million litres per day in April from 34.2 million litres per day in March while petrol imports fell sharply by 37.3 per cent to 3.7 million litres per day from 5.9 million litres per day in March.
The study also revealed imported crude oil fell 95.65 per cent to 0.41 million barrels in April from 9.43 million barrels in March.
Meanwhile, crude oil supplied by Nigerian upstream businesses to local refineries jumped 56 per cent in April to 17.99 million barrels, from 11.48 million barrels delivered in March.
The NMDPRA said the 650,000 barrels per day Dangote Refinery was at 99.12 per cent capacity utilisation in April, with the government-owned refineries in Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna inactive.
On the other hand, Nigeria’s crude oil production grew to 1.663 million barrels per day in April 2026 from 1.546 million bpd in March, including condensates, the research said.
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