Nigeria halted the issuance of import licenses for gasoline, a major win for billionaire Aliko Dangote, who controls Africa’s largest refinery and has long called for the move.
Nearly all gasoline supplied domestically in February came from Dangote’s plant, data from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) shows.
Oil marketing firms including a unit of TotalEnergies SE, Conoil Plc and MRS Nigeria Plc, which imported 38% of the nation’s gasoline in January, had their licenses suspended.
The February 2026 Supply Data
| Source | January 2026 Supply | February 2026 Supply | Market Share |
| Local Refineries | 40.1 Million Litres/Day | 36.5 Million Litres/Day | 92.4% |
| Imported Fuel | 24.8 Million Litres/Day | 3.0 Million Litres/Day | 7.6% |
| Total Daily Supply | 64.9 Million Litres/Day | 39.5 Million Litres/Day | 100% |
Source: NMDPRA
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Utilization Growth: The NMDPRA confirmed that the Dangote Refinery is currently operating at 78% capacity, processing roughly 507,000 barrels per day (bpd).
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The “Rollover” Effect: The decline in total daily supply for February (down 39% from January) is attributed to the presence of significant “rollover stock” from January imports, which the regulator is allowing to clear before domestic production ramps up further.
The transition from import-dependency to self-sufficiency has been rapid. In just one month, the market share of major oil marketers—including TotalEnergies, Conoil, and MRS Nigeria—has shifted from active importers to domestic offtakers.
A new policy has been introduced that bars the issuance of import licenses “where local production is sufficient,” and they will now only be granted when needed — which is not currently the case, George Ene-Ita, the regulator’s spokesman, said.
Dangote refinery, which can process 650,000 barrels of crude a day, is currently running at 78% capacity, the regulator said. The plant outside of Lagos supplied 64% of Nigeria’s gasoline requirement last month, leaving a daily deficit of 20 million liters that was covered by previously imported stock, Ene-Ita said.
Prior to the opening of the Dangote refinery, Africa’s top oil producer exported crude for decades while importing refined petroleum products — a practice the tycoon capitalized on to build political support for his plant. The facility continues to hold an import license, using it to bring in components needed to make some blended fuels, the regulator said.
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