The Federal Government has suspended the issuance of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) or petrol import licenses for a second straight month, prioritizing local production and protecting domestic refineries.
This move is seen as a win for the Dangote Refinery and other local refineries, which had sued the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and the state oil company, Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, to halt imports.
The suspension is in line with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), which allows imports only when domestic supply falls short.
In February, the Dangote Refinery supplied 36.5 million litres of petrol and 8 million litres of diesel to the local market, meeting a significant portion of Nigeria’s demand.
The NMDPRA deemed this sufficient, leading to the decision to withhold import licenses.
The move has been welcomed by the Crude Oil Refiners Association of Nigeria (CORAN), which has long urged the government to stop issuing import licenses that undermine local refiners’ margins. “For us, anything that protects local production is a good move.
The challenge now is to sustain the momentum,” said Eche Idoko, CORAN spokesperson.
