Official records have shown that the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority cleared the majority of petroleum product vessels calling at Nigerian ports within 24 hours in November 2025.
Data contained in the NMDPRA’s vessel clearance schedule for the month indicates that many applications were approved within hours of submission, with several vessels receiving clearance the same day documents were filed. In some cases, approvals were completed in minutes, particularly where operators submitted complete documentation upfront.
The schedule, which covers dozens of vessels operated by both major and independent marketers, shows processing times largely ranging between a few minutes and several hours, with most falling well below one day. Only a limited number of applications extended close to or beyond 18 hours, often due to late submissions, document revisions or technical issues.
Vessels linked to Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE recorded some of the fastest processing times during the period. According to the report, at least two Dangote-linked vessels were cleared in about 10 to 11 minutes, reflecting what the regulator described as immediate processing once required documents were fully provided.
The records further suggest that delays were mostly linked to applicant-related issues rather than regulatory bottlenecks. Remarks attached to some entries cited incomplete documentation, resubmissions and portal-related glitches as reasons for longer processing times.
Major marketers, including NNPC Trading, NNPC Retail, Ardova, TotalEnergies, NIPCO, Rainoil and Eterna, all featured prominently in the schedule, with processing times varying across applications by the same companies. Analysts say this variation underscores the role of compliance and timing, rather than company size or ownership, in determining approval speed.
The development comes amid public debate on huge fuel importation in November. The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and other marketers imported no less than 1.5 billion litres of petrol in November alone, according to data from the NMDPRA.
The November import figure of 52.1 million litres per day is the highest since the Dangote refinery started petrol production in September 2024. The $20bn Lekki refinery supplied 19.5 million litres per day in the same month, amounting to 585 million litres for the whole month, underscoring the country’s high dependence on imported fuel amid growing local refining capacity.
Explaining why fuel importation surged in November, the NMDPRA disclosed that low supply was recorded in September and October 2025, below the national demand threshold. However, the Dangote refinery countered this, accusing the former NMDPRA Chief Executive, Farouk Ahmed, of economic sabotage.
