The Crude Oil Refineries Association of Nigeria has said modular refineries in the country have the potential to supply more than 10 per cent of Nigeria’s diesel requirements if they receive adequate crude oil supply.

The association’s Publicity Secretary, Eche Idoko, stated this while reacting to data released by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, which showed that modular refineries accounted for about two per cent of the country’s diesel consumption within a three-month period.

Idoko noted that although the figure highlights the contribution of modular refineries, it does not reflect their full production capacity. According to him, the facilities could deliver a much higher share of diesel supply if they had steady access to crude oil.
He explained that several modular refineries are currently operating below their installed capacity mainly because they struggle to obtain sufficient crude feedstock.

Idoko said the association believes the refineries could supply between 10 and 15 per cent of Nigeria’s diesel demand if crude supply challenges are addressed.

He also disclosed that CORAN has repeatedly called on the Federal Government to extend the naira-for-crude initiative to modular refineries. The policy currently allows selected local refiners to purchase crude oil in naira rather than foreign currency.

According to him, giving modular refineries access to the arrangement would enable them to increase production and help make diesel more readily available in the domestic market.

He added that facilities such as OPAC Refinery, Aradel Refinery, Waltersmith Refinery, and the Edo Refinery could significantly improve output if they benefit from the policy incentives.
Idoko emphasised that diesel remains a critical fuel for Nigeria’s economy because it powers much of the country’s industrial and agricultural activities.

Meanwhile, data compiled from the NMDPRA’s monthly fact sheets showed that modular refineries supplied an average of 2.37 per cent of Nigeria’s diesel demand between November 2025 and January 2026.
During that period, only three modular refineries – Waltersmith, Edo Refinery, and Aradel were operational, while OPAC and Duport refineries were inactive.

The operational plants produced an average of about 393,000 litres of diesel per day over the three months. Output was about 489,000 litres daily in November 2025, declined to roughly 392,000 litres in December, and dropped further to about 297,000 litres per day in January 2026.

In comparison, Nigeria’s average diesel consumption during the same period was estimated at around 17 million litres per day, based on domestic truck-out figures. Demand stood at about 15.4 million litres per day in November, 16.4 million litres in December, and rose to 19.2 million litres per day in January.
Based on these figures, modular refineries met approximately 3.18 per cent of demand in November, 2.39 per cent in December, and 1.55 per cent in January.

Despite their contribution, larger refining operations particularly the Dangote refinery as well as imported products continue to dominate diesel supply in the country.

The Dangote facility alone supplied about 5.6 million litres of diesel per day in November, 5.8 million litres in December, and increased its output to 10.9 million litres per day in January 2026.