Despite initial hopes for local production, Nigeria’s modular refineries struggled to make a major mark on the national market in July 2026, supplying just 18.35 million litres of Automotive Gas Oil (diesel) accounting for a mere 2.5% of the country’s total monthly supply. Data from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority reveals that oil marketing companies stepped in to bridge the gap, importing 244.9 million litres of diesel during the same 31-day period.
Across July, total daily national diesel receipts averaged 23.6 million litres, translating to an aggregate monthly supply of roughly 731.6 million litres. While domestic supply dominated by major facilities like the Dangote Refinery alongside modular plants contributed 486.7 million litres, modular facilities averaged a combined output of just 592,000 litres per day. Individual performance across modular operators varied widely, with Waltersmith leading in output at an average of 341,000 litres daily at a 70.42% capacity utilization rate, while Edo Refinery registered the highest efficiency, operating at 95.72% capacity to yield 107,000 litres daily. Meanwhile, Aradel averaged 144,000 litres per day at 36.32% capacity, OPAC produced a modest 7,000 litres daily at under 1% capacity, and Duport Refinery remained entirely shut down.
The broader petroleum landscape saw daily average receipts reach 45.5 million litres for petrol (totaling 1.41 billion litres for July), 1.9 million litres for aviation fuel (58.9 million litres total), and 5,300 tonnes for Liquefied Petroleum Gas. Crucially, state-owned refineries in Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna recorded zero production throughout the month, leaving imported diesel to cover nearly a third of total national consumption.
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Industry representatives emphasize that these low figures reflect supply bottlenecks rather than operational limits. According to the Crude Oil Refineries Association of Nigeria (CORAN), modular refineries possess the capacity to supply 10% to 15% of the nation's diesel demand if adequate crude oil feedstock is made available. To unlock this potential, CORAN has repeatedly urged the Federal Government to extend its "naira-for-crude" framework to modular operators, arguing that extending these policy incentives is vital to securing feedstock and boosting domestic energy self-sufficiency.
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