The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has reported a significant drop in the country's domestic consumption of petrol. According to Mr. Farouk Ahmed, the Chief Executive of NMDPRA, the daily consumption has decreased from 66.7 million liters before deregulation to 44.3 million liters per day, representing a reduction of about 33.58 percent. Ahmed made this announcement during his keynote address at the Oil Trading and Logistics (OTL) Africa Week 2023 in Lagos.

Ahmed also mentioned that out of the 94 licensed oil marketers, only eight wholesale petroleum product suppliers were issued permits to import into the country. These licensed importers delivered a total of eight cargoes of petrol, amounting to 251,000 metric tons (291,238,670.69 liters), between June and September. The decrease in the number of licensed importers was attributed to the challenge of forex illiquidity, which has limited the ability of oil marketing companies to import the product.

However, Ahmed expressed optimism that the government's efforts to improve the stability of the forex market would support the importation of petrol by more oil marketing companies, in addition to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd. He also highlighted the expected enhancement and security of petroleum product supply through the upcoming Dangote Refinery and the rehabilitation of NNPCL refineries in the short to medium term.

Ahmed emphasized the importance of adopting gas as a transition fuel and implementing strategic gas development frameworks through the Decade of Gas Program (DOGP) in Nigeria. The DOGP aims to accelerate the growth of gas processing, storage, transportation, retail, and utilization within the country. Ahmed noted that the full deregulation of the sector has further facilitated the adoption of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) as a more sustainable and affordable alternative automotive fuel.

In line with this, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has launched the Presidential initiative on CNG (PiCNG), which focuses on providing immediate and long-lasting infrastructure for modern mass transit systems. Ahmed stated that the PiCNG has already begun its work and is adequately supported with the necessary tools and funding to achieve its goals.

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