Nigeria opens fuel market to more gasoline imports amid regulator reshuffle

Nigeria's downstream oil regulator has drastically eased its restrictions on foreign fuel imports after a presidential directive to replace its CEO last week, according to eight local sources with knowledge of the matter.

The Nigerian Midstream & Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority issued six Nigerian marketers with new gasoline import licenses on May 6, equating to a total volume of 600,000 metric tons, or roughly a quarter of the country's domestic consumption.

It is a significant policy departure from recent market norms, which have seen the NMDPRA heavily regulate foreign arrivals of Nigeria's main motor fuel in order to support the country's new domestic refinery, Dangote.

After an initial clampdown in October 2025, the NMDPRA issued six companies with limited gasoline import licenses in late March 2025, but left them to expire at the end of the first quarter, leaving uncertainty over its future policy trajectory.

In its latest permitting round, the authority has continued to restrict the number of companies authorized to import foreign gasoline, but has substantially increased the allowances to cover more than triple the previously approved volume.

According to a list shared by one well-placed market source and various West African traders, the licensed companies -- which include Matrix, AA Rano, AYM Shafa, Nipco, Pinacle and Bono -- will be authorized to import between 60,000-150,000 mt of gasoline, subject to the permit type.

Such entities will typically buy product from the nearby offshore Lome market, where larger international trading houses and oil companies will send the fuel and load it onto smaller ships.

None of the marketers nor the NMDPRA were available for official comment.

The news follows the shock exit of the NMDPRA's CEO, Saidu Mohammed, after just four months in office, which made headlines on April 29 after it was announced by Nigeria's presidential spokesperson.

In his place, the President nominated Rabiu Umar, an outgoing Sales and Marketing at Dangote Industries Limited, the wider conglomerate that owns the private refining business. According to local media, the Senate confirmed the appointment on May 7.

Umar inherits a market that has been left divided on the country's import policy. On the one hand, the 650,000 barrels/day Dangote refinery has rapidly transformed the Nigerian fuel sector and put pressure on an established import model, growing its market share since starting up in January 2024.

However, detractors have expressed concerns around over-dependence on a single fuel source in the Nigerian market, and have raised new concerns over domestic energy security in the context of rising prices and the conflict in the Middle East.

Domestic supply balance

According to the latest NMDPRA figures, the Dangote refinery ran at 94% of its capacity in March and produced enough fuel to cover the country's entire domestic gasoline consumption. However, supplies to the local market fell.

S&P Global Commodities at Sea data shows Nigeria imported 60,000 b/d, or 218,000 mt, of gasoline in April, more than double March's all-time low but still less than half of the 2026 average.

In an interview at the Dangote refinery, the country's only working commercial-scale facility, CEO David Bird said the refinery was poised to fully cater to the local market, but expressed concerns over the regulator's ability to police the arrival of substandard fuel products.

"The only reason that could be undercut is through inferior or sanctioned products," he said. "We are more than happy to compete on level playing field from a product quality perspective at import parity pricing."

Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, assessed gasoline FOB West Africa at $1,201/mt on May 7, up 0.25% from the previous day and 75% from its prewar level.