The Central Bank of Nigeria said that between January and September 2024, it disbursed a total of $1.25 billion to operators in the oil sector for the importation of petroleum products and other associated goods into the nation.

This followed the elimination of fuel subsidies, and changes were made to the oil industry to increase domestic output.

The $1.25 billion is 40% more than the $891 million that the apex bank gave dealers during the same time frame in 2023, the Punch reported.

Marketers continue to import Despite the availability of petrol from the Dangote plant, marketers have insisted on continuing fuel imports, which is the reason for the quantity released in the first nine months of 2024.

The country's foreign reserves and the naira to dollar exchange rate are impacted by fuel imports, a major consumer of foreign cash.

The CBN reported that during the same time period, $18.78 billion in foreign exchange was allocated to 19 sectors and services that aimed to engage in imports and other forex-related activities.

The government deregulated the petroleum market completely in October, enabling refineries to sell directly to consumers.

After a pricing conflict between the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and the Dangote refinery, this policy abruptly increased the price of gasoline to N1,060 per liter before it was lowered to N935 per litre in December.

According to the report, petrole imports cost $26.55 million in January 2024, $161.88 million in February, and $334.47 million in March. In April and May, gasoline import forex declined to $106.48 million and $150.45 million, respectively, but in June, it increased to $36.82 million.

The nation spent $192.71 million and $107.10 million in July and August, respectively, on the importation of petroleum products.

Nigerians spent N5.14 trillion on mineral fuel imports in the third quarter of 2024, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

Crude oil refiners and other downstream industry participants said last year that the dollar prices on locally produced Premium Motor Spirit, or gasoline, as well as the expense of importing crude are the main causes of the product's high price in comparison to imported PMS.

Some of the fees for locally processed goods are still in dollars, according to the Crude Oil Refinery Owners Association of Nigeria, which emphasized that this has an impact on the price of these goods.