The Dangote Petroleum Refinery exported an average of 54.63 million litres of petrol, diesel and aviation fuel daily in September 2026, surpassing the 39.98 million litres delivered to the Nigerian market.
This marked the first time in the two months under review that the refinery’s combined exports exceeded its domestic supplies.
The development coincided with the refinery operating at 105.98 per cent of its installed capacity, its highest utilisation level between January and September 2026. The figures highlight the facility’s growing presence in the international petroleum market despite ongoing concerns about fuel availability in Nigeria.
According to data contained in the September 2026 fact sheet released by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), the refinery’s combined daily exports of the three petroleum products rose by 37.33 per cent to 54.63 million litres from 39.78 million litres recorded in August.
Meanwhile, domestic deliveries declined by 22.08 per cent, falling from 51.31 million litres daily in August to 39.98 million litres in September.
This means the refinery exported 14.65 million litres more than it supplied to the Nigerian market each day during the month.
The development represented a reversal of the August figures, when domestic supplies exceeded exports by 11.53 million litres daily.
Despite the shift in distribution, the refinery recorded a 15.68 per cent increase in combined production of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol), Automotive Gas Oil (diesel) and aviation turbine kerosene, rising from 84.43 million litres per day in August to 97.67 million litres in September.
The latest report also revealed that the facility operated at more than 100 per cent of its installed capacity in four months this year: May, June, August and September.
Its capacity utilisation stood at 101.25 per cent in May and 101.36 per cent in June before dropping to 71.09 per cent in July following maintenance work on its crude distillation and residue fluid catalytic cracking units.
Operations subsequently improved to 105.21 per cent in August and increased further to 105.98 per cent in September.
The refinery had recorded 99.12 per cent utilisation in April, following 61.27 per cent in January, 78.13 per cent in February and approximately 93.62 per cent in March.
At 105.98 per cent utilisation, the facility processed an estimated 689,000 barrels of crude oil daily, exceeding its original installed capacity of 650,000 barrels per day.
However, the refinery management has stated that its capacity has been expanded to 700,000 barrels daily.
NMDPRA figures further indicated that the refinery received approximately 618,000 barrels of crude oil daily in September, suggesting that about 71,000 barrels were sourced from existing inventories.
A breakdown of the petroleum products showed that daily petrol production increased by 12.59 per cent, from 41.94 million litres in August to 47.22 million litres in September.
However, petrol exports climbed by 58.99 per cent, reaching 15.47 million litres daily compared with 9.73 million litres in the previous month. Domestic deliveries, on the other hand, dropped by 20.55 per cent from 35.87 million litres to 28.50 million litres.
Diesel production also recorded significant growth, increasing by 35.04 per cent from 18.01 million litres daily in August to 24.32 million litres in September.
Its exports surged by 81.83 per cent, rising from 8.75 million litres to 15.91 million litres daily, while domestic supplies declined by 34.20 per cent, from 12.37 million litres to 8.14 million litres.
Consequently, the volume of diesel exported was almost twice the quantity supplied to the local market.
For aviation fuel, daily exports increased by 9.15 per cent, moving from 21.30 million litres in August to 23.25 million litres in September.
Domestic deliveries also recorded a slight improvement, rising from 3.07 million litres to 3.34 million litres daily.
Exports accounted for 87.44 per cent of the refinery’s aviation fuel evacuation during the month, making the product the largest contributor to its overall export figures.
Although domestic supplies of petrol and diesel combined remained higher than their exports, the difference narrowed considerably.
The refinery supplied 36.64 million litres of both products daily to the domestic market, compared with 31.38 million litres exported. This reduced the supply gap to 5.26 million litres daily from 29.76 million litres recorded in August.
The growing volume of exports has renewed concerns about the connection between increased domestic refining capacity, international petroleum sales and the availability of fuel for Nigerian consumers.
Notably, the refinery’s daily petrol output of 47.22 million litres was higher than Nigeria’s estimated average consumption of 44.4 million litres in September.
However, only 28.50 million litres entered the domestic market, while 15.47 million litres were exported and another 3.25 million litres were added to refinery stocks.
According to the regulator, domestic refineries accounted for approximately 65 per cent of Nigeria’s petrol consumption during the period.
The country’s average daily petrol receipts from local refineries and imports also fell by 23.37 per cent, declining from 50.5 million litres in August to 38.7 million litres in September.
Petrol imports dropped by 30.14 per cent to 10.2 million litres daily, a development the NMDPRA attributed to the exhaustion of approved import permit volumes.
Diesel supplies experienced an even sharper decline, falling by 40 per cent to 8.7 million litres daily, the lowest level recorded in the 13 months covered by the fact sheet.
The volume was below the country’s average daily diesel consumption of 14.5 million litres, with the regulator linking the decline to reduced imports and domestic evacuation amid high prices.
Nigeria’s petrol stock sufficiency also stood at 23.9 days in September, falling below the NMDPRA’s 30-day benchmark.
Diesel stock sufficiency similarly declined from 51.6 days in August to 49.7 days.
The figures underscore the challenges facing Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector following the removal of fuel subsidies and the emergence of the Dangote refinery as a major industry player.
The 700,000-barrel-per-day facility, which commenced petrol production in September 2024, was expected to reduce the country’s reliance on imported petroleum products, conserve foreign exchange and strengthen domestic fuel availability.
However, the September figures suggest that higher production does not automatically guarantee increased local supply, as exports, inventory management and market pricing also influence the volume of products delivered to Nigerian consumers.
The major challenge for the Federal Government and petroleum regulators remains ensuring that the growth in domestic refining translates into consistent local supplies, sufficient reserves and competitive prices, while allowing refiners to participate in the international market.