The Federal Government has disclosed that Nigeria’s petrol import bill has dropped sharply from about N2.3 trillion in the first quarter of 2025 to less than N90 billion a year later, driven by increased local refining and domestic fuel production.
The Special Adviser to the President on Energy, Olu Verheijen, disclosed this during the Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce Energy Day 2026 held in Lagos.
According to a text of her presentation made available on Tuesday, local petrol production has risen from virtually zero in 2023 to about 48 million litres per day, with the majority of the petrol consumed by Nigerians now being refined within the country.
“For the first time in a generation, most of the petrol Nigerians consume is refined at home,” Verheijen said.
She noted that increased local refining has significantly reduced the demand for foreign exchange previously required for fuel imports, easing pressure on the naira.
“For decades, every cargo of imported petrol represented a constant demand for scarce dollars and a structural drain on the economy. As local refining has risen, that pressure has eased,” she said.
Verheijen described energy security and currency stability as interconnected goals, saying reduced spending on fuel imports has strengthened the country’s economic outlook.
On crude oil production, she said Nigeria restored investor confidence and increased output, with crude oil and condensate production averaging 1.64 million barrels per day in 2025.
According to her, this represents an increase of about 400,000 barrels per day compared to 2023 levels and marks the highest onshore production recorded in two decades.
She also disclosed that international oil company divestments worth more than $4 billion had been completed, leading to greater indigenous participation in onshore operations while major oil firms shifted their focus to deep-water projects and integrated gas development.
“Pipeline uptime is now consistently high, and illegal refining has been sharply reduced. Every additional barrel matters for revenue, jobs and the strength of the federation,” she said.
Reflecting on the state of the sector in 2023, Verheijen said the oil and gas industry was under severe strain, with unsustainable fuel subsidies, foreign exchange distortions and low production levels hindering growth.
She added that power sector debt had also weakened the gas-to-power value chain.
According to her, the Tinubu administration’s first priority was to restore fiscal credibility by removing the fuel subsidy and reforming the foreign exchange market.
“The decisions were difficult but necessary. The results are visible. Total federation revenue rose to about N21 trillion in 2024, up from roughly N12 trillion in 2023, nearly doubling within one year,” she said.
Despite the deregulation of the downstream sector, Verheijen said the government had successfully prevented the chronic nationwide petrol queues that previously characterised fuel scarcity in the country.