CORAN Seeks Crude Access to Lift Modular Refinery Diesel Share

The Crude Oil Refineries Association of Nigeria (CORAN) says modular refineries can supply more than 10 per cent of Nigeria’s diesel demand if operators receive adequate crude feedstock and access to current policy incentives.

CORAN Publicity Secretary Eche Idoko said this while reacting to figures published by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), which showed modular plants contributed roughly two per cent of national diesel supply over a recent three-month period.

Idoko said the association does not dispute that output is currently low, but argued that the published figure reflects a supply bottleneck rather than a technical production limit. According to him, several modular plants are operating below installed capacity because they cannot secure enough crude to run more consistently.

“Any percentage at this moment is very, very important. When they said two per cent, I would contend with that figure. Our capacity is more than two per cent. We have the capacity to produce up to 10 per cent of our current diesel need, or 15 per cent, if we have enough crude supply,” he said.

He added that the group has repeatedly asked the Federal Government to extend the naira-for-crude arrangement to modular refiners. Idoko said this step would help increase local output from operators including OPAC, Aradel, Waltersmith and Edo Refinery.

“We have argued; we have contended that the naira-for-crude deal be extended to modular refineries. Up until now, nothing has been done,” he said. He maintained that improved support for modular refiners would increase diesel availability for domestic users.

Idoko described diesel as a strategic product for productive sectors, saying it powers a large share of industrial and agricultural activity across the country.

NMDPRA fact-sheet data for November 2025 to January 2026 showed that only Waltersmith, Edo Refinery and Aradel were operational among modular facilities during the period, while OPAC and Duport remained inactive.

Across the three months, modular refineries supplied an average of about 393,000 litres of Automotive Gas Oil daily. Monthly supply declined from about 489,000 litres per day in November to 392,000 litres in December and 297,000 litres in January.

During the same period, domestic diesel demand averaged around 17 million litres per day based on truck-out volumes, rising from 15.4 million litres in November to 16.4 million litres in December and 19.2 million litres in January.

Based on those figures, modular refineries met about 3.18 per cent of demand in November, 2.39 per cent in December and 1.55 per cent in January, producing a three-month average of 2.37 per cent.

The data also showed that larger facilities, particularly Dangote Refinery, continued to contribute significantly higher volumes. Dangote’s diesel supply stood at 5.6 million litres per day in November, 5.8 million litres in December and 10.9 million litres in January, while imports remained part of the country’s supply mix.