Imports of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly known as fuel, fell by 3.5 billion litres last year, according to National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data.
According to the agency’s most recent petroleum product distribution figures issued on Tuesday, overall petrol imports fell to 20.30 billion litres in 2023 from 23.54 billion litres in 2022, a 13.77 percent decline year on year.
The NBS also reported that petrol imports fell by 3.58 billion litres in the second half of 2023 compared to the year’s first half.
It stated that the country imported 8.36 billion litres of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) in H2 (first half) of 2023, a considerable decline from 11.94 billion litres imported in H1 2023, or a 29.99 percent reduction.
It said, “In 2023, PMS truck out stood at 20.22 billion litres, indicating a 16.96 per cent decrease relative to 24.35 billion litres recorded in 2022.
“In terms of imported products, 20.30 billion litres of Premium Motor Spirit were imported in 2023 relative to 23.54 billion litres 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 litres, resulting in a 30.22 per cent drop when compared to H2 2023, equivalent to a reduction of 3.62 billion litres.”
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 litres in 2023 from four billion litres in 2022.
The statistics also showed that 109.39 million litres of AGO was locally produced in 2023, representing a 6.76 per cent rise from 102.47 million litres produced in 2022.
“About 69.71 million litres of Household Kerosene were locally produced in 2023 compared to 44.68 million litres in 2022, indicating a growth rate of 56.02 per cent over the period.
“For Automotive Gas Oil, 109.39 million litres were locally produced in 2023, when compared to 102.47 million litres reported in 2022. This represents a 6.76 per cent growth rate.
“Also, 4.94 billion litres of Automotive Gas Oil were imported in 2023, indicating an increase of 23.66 per cent compared to four billion litres in the previous year,” It added.
