Surge in Nigeria’s Petroleum Imports from Malta Raises Concerns Amid Dangote Refinery Operations

Nigeria’s petroleum products imports from Malta surged to N766.81 billion in the third quarter of 2024, despite the operational commencement of the Dangote Refinery.

This insight comes from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) trade data for Q3 2024, released last week.

The data revealed that imports from Malta ranked among Nigeria’s top five during the period, with major commodities including motor spirit (ordinary), gas oil, durum wheat, cane sugar for refineries, and used vehicles with diesel or semidiesel engines.

The report stated:
“Analysis by trading partners shows imports from China valued at N3,574.79 billion, representing 24.36% of total imports, followed by India at N1,662.68 billion (11.33%), Belgium at N1,632.89 billion (11.13%), the United States at N1,024.44 billion (6.98%), and Malta at N766.81 billion (5.23%).”

Notably, the NBS Q1 and Q2 data reported zero imports from Malta. However, by Q3 2024, Malta accounted for 5.23% of Nigeria’s total imports, valued at N14.67 trillion.

Newsflash Nigeria reports that Dangote Refinery officially entered the Nigerian market on September 15, 2024, with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) as its sole off-taker.

In July 2024, Aliko Dangote, President of Dangote Refinery, alleged that some NNPCL officials and oil traders operate blending plants in Malta to import substandard petroleum products into Nigeria.

“Some terminals, NNPC personnel, and traders have set up blending plants near Malta. We are aware of these operations,” Dangote claimed.

Responding swiftly, NNPCL’s Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari, refuted the allegations, stating:
“To clarify, I neither own nor operate any business directly or by proxy anywhere globally, apart from a local agricultural venture. Furthermore, I am unaware of any NNPC employee involved in such activities.”

This development has raised concerns over why NNPCL prioritizes imported petroleum products over Dangote Refinery’s output.

Meanwhile, agreements with the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) and other marketers, coupled with the upcoming Port Harcourt refinery, are expected to reduce Nigeria’s dependency on imported petroleum products, enhancing energy security.

This follows a 342% increase in Nigeria’s petroleum product imports from Malta in 2023, totaling $2.08 billion by Q3 2023, according to the NBS.

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