No fewer than four vessels carrying a combined 123.4 million litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, arrived at Nigeria’s seaports between October 18 and October 20, 2024. This follows efforts by oil marketers to supplement the supply from the Dangote Petroleum Refinery amid rising domestic demand.
Documents obtained from the Nigerian Port Authority (NPA) revealed that these shipments docked at the Apapa Port in Lagos and the Calabar Port in Cross River State. The import aligns with a previous report by *The PUNCH* that oil dealers intended to bring in fuel to address the shortfall from the Dangote refinery, which has been producing around 10 million litres per day—significantly below its earlier promised 25 million litres daily.
Details of the vessel arrivals show that on Friday, October 18, one vessel with 35,000 metric tonnes of PMS berthed at the ASPM jetty at 10:13 a.m., followed by another carrying 37,000 metric tonnes at 3:37 p.m. A third vessel arrived shortly after, bringing 10,000 metric tonnes of fuel to the same jetty. By Sunday, a fourth vessel arrived at the Eco Marine Terminal in Calabar with an additional 10,000 metric tonnes.
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Based on the industry conversion rate of 1,341 litres per metric tonne, the total 92,000 metric tonnes delivered translates to about 123.4 million litres of petrol. This is expected to help stabilize fuel supply across the country.
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) emphasized that all imported fuel must undergo rigorous testing before distribution. The spokesperson, George Ene-Ita, highlighted that products are tested at both the source and upon arrival to ensure they meet the required specifications before being offloaded for public consumption.
