Price War: BOVAS, Eternal Oil, Other Companies Import Fuel to Compete With Dangote Petrol
- Even though Nigeria has improved its local refining capacity, major oil marketers are still importing refined petroleum products
- They imported 6.38 billion litres of automotive gas oil (diesel) and premium motor spirit (petrol) in just five months
- Importers may have paid N4.51 trillion on PMS imports and N1.51 trillion on diesel at an average price of N1,100 per litre
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Legit.ng journalist Zainab Iwayemi has 5-year-experience covering the Economy, Technology, and Capital Market.
Major oil marketers have continued to import refined petroleum products despite Nigeria's increased local refining capability; in just five months, they imported 6.38 billion liters of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) and Automotive Gas Oil (diesel).
Source: Getty Images
However, as the importation of these commodities consumed over N6 trillion, independent marketers and retailers resisted the trend, which further put strain on the nation's foreign exchange.
What data says about petrol importation
According to an article in PUNCH on Wednesday, March 5, that quoted the movement of tanker vessels into Nigerian ports, fuel importers using limited foreign exchange imported more than 5.01 billion litres of petrol and 1.37 billion litres of diesel between October 2024 and November 2025.
With an average price of N900 per litre, importers may have spent N1.51 trillion on diesel at an average price of N1,100 per litre and N4.51 trillion on PMS imports. This represents a total of N6.02 trillion.
The imported products landed through four seaports, with the Apapa and Tin Can seaports in Lagos receiving the largest quantity of 3.86 billion liters of petroleum, according to the six-page advertisement that examined the importation of PMS and AGO.
Port-Harcourt port received the second-highest amount of fuel, 5.63 billion, after this. The Warri received the smallest petrol import of 389.52 million liters, while the Calabar port had 1.39 billion liters berthed there.
The most recent development occurred in spite of Nigeria's present domestic refining capacity of 985,000 barrels per day, which is sufficient to meet 50 million liters of daily consumption, according to the Nigerian Mid-stream and Downstream Regulatory Authority.
List of importers
An examination of the document that detailed the quantity of fuel imported into the nation revealed that, in addition to the NNPC, oil marketers including BOVAS, Eternal Oil, AA Rano, Fatgbems, Matrix Energy, Ibeto, Swift, Raj, T-Time, Wosbab Energy, NorthWest, Sobaz, TS Logistics, Shorelink, Stockgap, MEJ, Nepal, Rainoil, and AYM Shafa were listed as importers during that time.
Meanwhile, NNPCL Group CEO Mele Kyari stated this month that the firm has relied on domestic sources to serve its clients with fuel, not importing a single litre in 2025.
Marketers react to petrol importation
Petroleum product marketers opposed importing petroleum products into Nigeria, citing the impact on the country's foreign exchange.
Billy Gillis-Harry, the national president of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlet Owners Association of Nigeria, stated that the stakeholders had previously decided to encourage local content rather than bringing fuel into the country. He questioned why some parties had not yet complied with the resolution.
“We have collectively, as stakeholders, decided that we must be pro-local content. We must do everything possible to encourage local production and local consumption. I recall that all the associations took that decision under the leadership of NNPC to stop importation. So, whoever is importing at this time may not be doing that with the CBN’s dollar approval because CBN doesn’t have $600m now to give anybody to import petroleum products,” Gillis-Harry said.
He claims that the expansion of the Dangote, Port Harcourt, and other regional refineries in Nigeria is currently the main priority for stakeholders.
According to him, PETROAN opposes importing since there is sufficient capacity for refining.
“All of us in the industry today are focused on growing what Dangote, the NNPC are and other refineries like Azikel refinery, Edo refinery, Niger Delta refinery, Watersmith refinery. So, you can see clearly that there’s quite a lot of attraction of foreign investors in this downstream sector because it’s easy for Nigeria to become the hub of refined product exportation, which will certainly strengthen our naira and reduce our dependence on foreign exchange.
NNPC crashes petrol prices to N860 per litre
Legit.ng reported that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) has reduced its pump price of petrol to N860 per litre.
The moves come as a price war between major marketers and independent petroleum dealers, and fluctuations in global oil prices rage on.
The new NNPC price became effective on Monday, March 3, 2025, marking an important reduction from the previous price of N920 per litre, relieving Nigerians grappling with high living costs.
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Source: Legit.ng
