Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector has approximately 22,681 registered filling stations and more than 25,000 tanker trucks currently operating nationwide, according to the latest fact sheet released by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, an agency of the Federal Government.
The report, titled ‘State of the Downstream Sector’, provides a fresh snapshot of the country’s fuel supply chain following two years of deregulation. It shows that Nigeria also has 256 petroleum product depots, forming the backbone of the national storage and distribution system.
The expansion of the retail and tanker fleet reflects increased private-sector participation, heightened competition among marketers, and the continued growth of fuel-dependent economic activity across the country.
Recall that the Dangote refinery recently imported thousands of compressed natural gas-powered trucks for direct fuel distribution. The Authority noted that beyond the sheer number of outlets and trucks, the sector has a national storage capacity of 4.72 billion litres for petrol, 2.54 billion litres for diesel, and 464 million litres for aviation fuel.
The size of the trucking fleet highlights the country’s heavy reliance on road-based fuel distribution, a system long seen as vulnerable to accidents, delays, and rising operational costs.
Our correspondent reports that the downstream market remains largely private-sector driven and highly fragmented, even as Nigeria awaits the full impact of local refining on product availability and pricing.
With retail outlets nearing 23,000 and transport capacity expanding, stakeholders said the country’s downstream infrastructure is growing in scale, though challenges around import dependence, logistics, and distribution efficiency remain.
The fact sheet also captures the state of the nation’s gas processing and supply infrastructure. According to the document, Nigeria’s total installed gas processing capacity was 6.1 billion standard cubic feet per day as of October 2025, while gas conditioning and treatment plants added another 11.05 bscf/day, bringing the combined capacity to 17.2 bscf/day.
However, the average operating capacity as of October was 3.94 bscf/day, representing a 64.7 per cent utilisation rate. In terms of major facility performance, NLNG Trains 1–6 accounted for 3.5 bscf/day, representing 71.68 per cent of total processing.
The MPNU BRT facility processed 0.69 bscf/day, while the Escravos Gas Plant delivered 0.68 bscf/day at a utilisation rate of 75.57 per cent. For domestic supply, the NMDPRA reported that from Q1 to Q3 2025, gas-to-power averaged 0.641 bscf/day, gas-to-commercial 0.522 bscf/day, and gas-based industries 0.409 bscf/day, bringing total domestic supply to these categories to 1.572 bscf/day.
