Nigerian oil refiners have called for an end to petroleum-product imports and guaranteed access to local crude, warning that continued fuel imports undermine the country's efforts to retain more value from its oil. The Crude Oil Refinery Owners Association of Nigeria (CORAN), Independent Petroleum Producers Group (IPPG), and Dangote Refinery made the demand at the third Nigeria Oil Refining Summit (NORS) in Lagos. They stressed that the next phase of the petroleum-sector transformation must be driven by stronger upstream production to support the expanding domestic refining capacity.
The demand comes as crude receipts by domestic refineries rose to about 683,000 barrels per day in August 2026, indicating the increasing role of local refineries in meeting the country's petroleum-product requirements. However, CORAN said progress was being undermined by continued product imports and difficulties faced by some domestic refineries in securing crude on commercially viable terms. Chairman of CORAN, Momoh Oyarekhua, said Nigeria had moved from discussions about becoming a net exporter of petroleum products to a stage where domestic refining was increasingly transforming the country's fuel supply landscape.
Oyarekhua said the next objective should be to ensure that the benefits of refining were retained within the economy through jobs, foreign exchange savings, industrial growth, and greater energy security. He noted that despite abundant crude resources, some domestic refineries continued to face difficulties accessing crude oil on commercially viable terms. Oyarekhua also called for the full institutionalization of naira-for-crude, with transparent eligibility and access for qualifying domestic refineries, including modular refineries.
The refining association maintained that achieving the objective of reducing imports would require cooperation among producers, refiners, regulators, financiers, and infrastructure operators. Industry leaders insist that Nigeria must increase production rather than simply redirecting existing crude supplies. For CORAN, the ultimate destination is a market in which domestic refining increasingly supplies local demand and imports become limited to objectively established shortages.
President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, said the country's expanding refining capacity made increased upstream exploration critical. He noted that Nigerian crude and condensate production reached about 1.7 million barrels per day in June 2026, its highest in years. However, Dangote emphasized that the recent improvement was encouraging but would need to be consolidated through sustained investment in upstream production.
IPPG Chairman, Adegbite Falade, said Nigeria's refining ambitions could not be separated from the performance of the upstream industry. He noted that the country had substantial hydrocarbon reserves, but the priority was converting those reserves into actual production and securing a refinery supply. Falade called for dedicated crude evacuation corridors, secure pipelines, adequate terminal capacity, sufficient storage, functional jetties, and efficient marine logistics.
The industry leaders' demands are aimed at sustaining the country's refining boom and ensuring that Nigeria becomes a refining hub for Africa. The country's crude oil and condensate reserves stood at approximately 37.01 billion barrels as of January 1, 2026, while natural gas reserves stood at about 215.19 trillion cubic feet. The industry's growth will depend on the government's ability to address the challenges facing the sector and ensure a reliable supply of crude oil to domestic refineries.
Key points
- Nigerian refiners demand an end to fuel imports and guaranteed access to local crude to sustain the refining boom.
- The country's expanding refining capacity makes increased upstream exploration critical to meet the growing demand for crude oil.
- Industry leaders emphasize the need for cooperation among producers, refiners, regulators, financiers, and infrastructure operators to achieve the objective of reducing imports.
