KEY POINTS

• Vessels carrying 129,000 metric tonnes of petrol and diesel are arriving at Lagos ports.
• NMDPRA says it issued no import licences in 2026; arriving ships carry old authorisations.
• Dangote refinery now supplies 92 percent of Nigeria’s daily fuel consumption.

Vessels carrying 129,000 metric tonnes of petrol and diesel are docking at Lagos ports between March 14 and 17, arriving as Nigerians absorb fuel prices that crossed N1,200 per litre after Dangote Petroleum Refinery raised its gantry price to N1,175 per litre.

The Nigeria petrol price vessels picture is complicated by a regulatory clarification. The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority says it has not issued a single import licence for Premium Motor Spirit in 2026, and the ships currently arriving operate under authorisations granted last year, not new ones.

According to Nigerian Ports Authority shipping data obtained Monday, the vessel Mosunmola brought 20,000 metric tonnes of PMS to Lagos on March 14 via the Bulk Oil Plant, while Kobe docked at Kirikiri Lighter Terminal with 22,000 metric tonnes of diesel the same day. Bora and Ashabi are due Tuesday with 27,000 metric tonnes of PMS and 30,000 metric tonnes of diesel respectively. Two additional consignments totalling 30,000 metric tonnes of PMS also arrived at Calabar ports across Sunday and Monday.

Why the vessels are arriving despite the licence freeze

NMDPRA Chief Executive Saidu Mohammed was direct about the agency’s position. “We have not issued a single licence for petrol importation this year. Some interests still push for large-scale importation despite our progress in domestic refining,” he told a PUNCH delegation in Abuja.

A senior agency official, speaking without authorisation to be named, explained the mechanics. Dangote refinery held back exports for an extended stretch toward the end of 2025 due to weather-related delays in Europe, building up rollover stocks that covered February’s supply shortfall without new imports. The arriving vessels reflect licences issued in late 2025 and logistical delays around the Strait of Hormuz, not fresh government authorisation.

IPMAN spokesperson Chinedu Ukadike confirmed the marketers’ reading of the situation. “It might also be an old importation licence issued since last year. The imported products would not have any impact on prices unless the price of crude oil declines,” he said.

Supply gap and price pressure

The Nigeria petrol price vessels arrivals land against a difficult supply backdrop. Dangote refinery averaged 36 million litres per day in February 2026, while national consumption ran at roughly 56 million litres per day. NMDPRA said rollover stocks closed the gap that month, with domestic refineries covering 92 percent of daily national supply and imports accounting for just three million litres.

Retail prices now range between N1,200 and N1,300 per litre in several areas. Analysts, labour unions and private sector groups have called on the government to provide relief measures, warning that continued increases could deepen inflation. Some stakeholders have floated the return of a petrol subsidy. Projections suggest prices could breach N1,500 per litre or climb toward N2,000 if the Middle East conflict keeps global crude above $100 per barrel.