Nigeria's Petrol Export Surge Earns Near $2 Billion Amid High Domestic Prices

Nigeria's recent surge in petrol exports has earned the country N998.50 billion in the first six months of 2026, more than six times what it earned during the same period last year.

African countries accounted for N621.72 billion of this total, with stakeholders and operators in Nigeria's midstream oil and gas sector dismissing claims that high petrol prices are due to unnecessary imports or insufficient domestic supply.

Captain Emmanuel Iheanacho, chairman of Integrated Oil & Gas Ltd, suggested that accurate data is needed to determine actual production levels and domestic demand before any decision on export can be made.

However, the Dangote Refinery has been operating at full capacity and supplied 35.87 million litres of petrol daily to the domestic market in August, with a stockpile of 360.4 million litres at the end of the month.