Importation of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, dropped by 3.5 billion litres in the last year, data gathered from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has shown.
In its latest petroleum products distribution statistics released by the agency on Tuesday, total petrol imports reduced to 20.30 billion litres in 2023 from the 23.54 billion liters recorded in 2022, showing a decrease of 13.77 per cent year-on-year.
NBS also noted that petrol imports dropped by 3.58 billion liters in the second half of 2023 compared to the year’s first half.
It further stated that the country imported 8.36 billion liters of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) in H2 (first half) of 2023, a significant decrease from the 11.94 billion litres imported in H1 2023, marking a 29.99 per cent reduction.
It reads in part: “In 2023, PMS truck out stood at 20.22 billion liters, indicating a 16.96 per cent decrease relative to 24.35 billion liters recorded in 2022.
“In terms of imported products, 20.30 billion liters of Premium Motor Spirit were imported in 2023 relative to 23.54 billion liters in 2022, showing a decrease of 13.77 per cent. This downward trend is even more notable when compared to H2 2022.
“In the latter half of 2022, petrol imports stood at 11.98 billion liters, resulting in a 30.22 per cent drop when compared to H2 2023, equivalent to a reduction of 3.62 billion liters.”
A breakdown for the monthly volume of fuel imports in 2023 showed that 2.09 billion was brought in January, reduced to 1.99 billion in February, increased to 2.29 billion in March, 1.91 billion in April, and 2.01 billion in May.
It was 1.64 billion in June, 1.45 billion in July, 1.09 billion in August, 1.21 billion in September, 1.16 billion in October, 1.55 billion in November and 1.88 billion in December.
These figures highlight a drop in consumption across the country. Similarly, the bureau stated that the volume of Automotive Gas Oil, also known as diesel imported into Nigeria, rose to 4.94 billion liters in 2023 from four billion liters in 2022.
The statistics also showed that 109.39 million liters of AGO was locally produced in 2023, representing a 6.76 per cent rise from 102.47 million liters produced in 2022.
“About 69.71 million liters of Household Kerosene were locally produced in 2023 compared to 44.68 million liters in 2022, indicating a growth rate of 56.02 per cent over the period.
“For Automotive Gas Oil, 109.39 million liters were locally produced in 2023, when compared to 102.47 million liters reported in 2022. This represents a 6.76 per cent growth rate.
“Also, 4.94 billion liters of Automotive Gas Oil were imported in 2023, indicating an increase of 23.66 per cent compared to four billion liters in the previous year,” It added.
