Economy
Nigeria Halts Petrol Import Licences for Second Month
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria has suspended the issuance of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) or petrol import licenses for a second straight month in a move that signals a win for Dangote Refinery.
This development comes as regulators begin enforcing provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) that allow imports only when domestic supply falls short.
Data from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) indicated that no import licenses were issued in February, while the Crude Oil Refineries Association of Nigeria (CORAN) confirmed to Reuters that none have been issued so far in March, signalling a shift towards prioritising local output.
According to Bloomberg, oil marketing firms, including a unit of TotalEnergies SE, Conoil Plc and MRS Nigeria Plc, which imported around one-quarter of the nation’s petroleum in January, had their licenses suspended.
The shift highlights a stronger intent by the federal government to protect domestic refining and marks a win for the Dangote Refinery and other local refineries, which last year sued the NMDPRA and the state oil company, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, to force a halt to imports.
Under the PIA, the regulator may grant import permits only when domestic production is not enough to meet national demand.
There have been previous arguments that issuing licenses was necessary to maintain competition and prevent market dominance.
Fuel pump prices have surged by more than 50 per cent since the United States and Israel began strikes on Iran last week, pushing global oil markets higher.
NMDPRA Spokesperson, Mr George Ene‑Ita, blamed the sharp rise in prices on escalating conflict in the Middle East.
Nigeria’s average daily petrol consumption fell to 56.9 million litres per day in February 2026, down from 60.2 million litres in January.
In February, the Dangote Refinery supplied 36.5 million litres of petrol and 8 million litres of diesel to the local market, leaving a daily deficit of 20 million litres that was covered by previously imported stock.
According to NMDPRA, these volumes were sufficient, leading to its decision to withhold import licenses.
Mr Eche Idoko, spokesperson for the Crude Oil Refiners Association of Nigeria (CORAN), which has long urged the government to stop issuing import licenses that undermine local refiners’ margins, welcomed the regulator’s stance.
“For us, anything that protects local production is a good move. The challenge now is to sustain the momentum,” Mr Idoko said.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Shares of First Holdco Plc worth N45.0 billion issued through a private placement have been listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited.
A circular issued by the Head of Issuer Regulation Department of the NGX Regulation Limited, Mr Godstime Iwenekhai, disclosed that the equities were admitted for trading at the stock market on Monday.
According to the notice, the additional shares brought for listing to rank pari passu with existing shares of the organisation were 1,021,334,544 units.
These stocks were sold to one of the company’s major shareholders at a unit price of N44.06, amounting to N45.0 billion.
The total issued and fully paid-up shares of First Holdco, as a result of this listing, are now 45,475,027,677 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each.
“Trading licence holders are hereby notified that an additional 1,021,334,544 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each of First Holdco Plc were on Monday, June 22, 2026, listed on the daily official list of Nigerian Exchange Limited.
“The additional shares listed on NGX arose from the company’s private placement of 1,021,334,544 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each at N44.06 per share.
“With the listing of the additional shares, the total issued and fully paid-up shares of First Holdco Plc have now increased to 45,475,027,677 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each from 44,453,693,133 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each,” the disclosure stated.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has approved fresh import licences for petrol and diesel for the third quarter of 2026 (July – September) to prevent potential supply shortages in the domestic market.
According to a report by global energy intelligence firm, Argus Media, the latest approvals were issued to major downstream operators amid declining fuel stock levels and concerns over reduced petrol production at the 700,000 barrels per day Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lagos.
The move comes as Nigeria continues to balance increasing local refining capacity with the need to guarantee adequate supplies of petroleum products across the country.
According to the Argus report, domestic firms, including AA Rano, AYM Shafa, Bono Energy, Nipco, Matrix Energy and Pinnacle Oil, received permits to import Premium Motor Spirit, popularly known as petrol, during the July-September period.
The publication further reported that the same companies, with the exception of Nipco, were granted approvals to import Automotive Gas Oil, commonly known as diesel. The fresh approvals follow an earlier batch of petrol import permits issued by the regulator in May, covering about 720,000 metric tonnes.
Quoting a regulatory source, Argus noted that many of the companies granted the latest approvals were among those that had received permits in previous rounds. “These are some of the same ones that previously received the PMS permits,” the source was quoted as saying.
It was also claimed that AA Rano and Matrix Energy each received approvals to import 180,000 metric tonnes of petrol. AYM Shafa received approval for 120,000 metric tonnes, while Pinnacle Oil received a permit covering 150,000 metric tonnes.
For diesel imports, Argus reported that AYM Shafa obtained a permit for 60,000 metric tonnes, while Pinnacle secured approval for 45,000 metric tonnes. The report stated that the import approvals were issued only recently, after being delayed from an initial target date of June 15.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Three securities weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.01 per cent on Tuesday, June 23, dragging the market capitalisation down by N25.91 billion to N2.544 trillion from Monday’s N2.570 trillion. Also, the NASD Security Index (NSI) decreased by 43.17 points to 4,239.34 points from 4,282.51 points.
The triplet price losers were Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, which gave up N4.82 to trade at N75.00 per unit versus Monday’s closing price of N79.82 per unit. NASD Plc depreciated by N3.70 to close at N33.30 per share compared with the preceding day’s N37.00 per share, and Nitrox Industrial Gases Plc marginally lost 1 Kobo to sell at N21.41 per unit, in contrast to the previous session’s N21.42 per unit.
Tuesday’s trading data showed that the volume of securities traded by investors retreated by 35.9 per cent to 211,671 units from 330,034 units, and the value of securities fell by 82.9 per cent to N5.6 million from N32.7 million, while the number of deals doubled to 38 deals from 19 deals.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 68.1 million units transacted for N4.7 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the trading day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, trailed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units exchanged for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units sold for N415.7 million.
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