Petrol demand in Nigeria soared to 63.7 million litres per day in December 2025, breaking records.
According to the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), domestic use rose sharply last month.
Petrol Demand Surges
In November, Nigerians already consumed an average of 52.9 million litres per day, surpassing the 50 million litres benchmark.
Dangote Leads Supply
Meanwhile, the Dangote Petroleum Refinery led supply, delivering 32.01 million litres daily.
It operated at 71% capacity, directly driving December’s petrol increase.
However, state-owned refineries at Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna remained shut, producing no petrol.
At Port Harcourt, operators only evacuated small diesel stocks produced before the shutdown.
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At the same time, diesel supply fell to 17.9 million litres per day, yet consumption climbed to 16.4 million litres, showing strong demand.
Additionally, Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) supply increased slightly to 5.2 metric tonnes daily, reflecting gradual adoption of cleaner cooking fuel.
Modular And Future Supply
Modular refineries also contributed.
Edo ran at 85.43%, while ARADEL produced at 53.89%, supplying diesel and other fuels.
Together, they added naphtha, heavy kerosene, and fuel oil, though Dangote dominated output.
Consequently, December consumption exceeded 2025 targets: petrol 63.7ml/d, diesel 16.4ml/d, and LPG 4,380mt/d.
Population growth, economic activity, and fuel substitution continued to drive energy demand.
With state refineries offline, Dangote Petroleum Refinery remains Nigeria’s most critical domestic petrol source.
Therefore, stakeholders must expand local refining to ease supply pressure, stabilise prices, and strengthen energy security.
