The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has prohibited the operation of petroleum tankers with a capacity exceeding 60,000 litres on Nigerian roads, effective March 1. This measure aims to mitigate the rising number of truck-in-transit incidents that have plagued the nation’s roadways.
Mr. Ahmed Farouk, the Chief Executive of NMDPRA, announced the ban during a press briefing in Abuja shortly after the conclusion of its Stakeholders Technical Committee Meeting. He noted that by the fourth quarter of 2025, no truck with a 45,000-litre capacity will be permitted to load petroleum products. At the meeting, officials from various agencies—including the Department of State Services (DSS), the Federal Fire Service, the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), and the National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO)—along with representatives from the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN), and NMDPRA itself, were present.
Speaking through Mr. Ogbugo Ukoha, the Executive Director of Distribution Systems, Storage, and Retailing Infrastructure at NMDPRA, Farouk explained that the decision was prompted by the continual surge in road accidents involving heavy-duty petroleum tankers. “The first stakeholder’s technical committee met today to drill down and put timelines for about 10 resolutions that had been taken on how to drive down the significant increase that had been observed in relation to tankers incidents and fatalities,” he said. He further stated that the meeting reached a consensus that from March 1, any truck with an axle load exceeding 60,000 litres of hydrocarbon would be barred from loading at any depot. “The important thing about this is that, for the first time, consensus was built amongst all stakeholders, and we will work together to deliver a safe transportation of petroleum products across the country,” Farouk added.
Addressing circulating claims about fuel quality, the Authority’s Chief Executive dismissed such allegations as “bogus, misleading and unscientific.” He reassured Nigerians that all imported and locally refined petroleum products strictly adhere to regulatory standards before they enter the market. The regulator stressed its commitment to ensuring compliance with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) of 2021 and the specifications set by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), which include parameters like research obtain number, sulphur content, density, colour, and oxygenate levels. “Before any product is distributed, the regulator ensures that from the load port of the product, whether from a domestic refinery or imported, and at the discharge port, accredited laboratories must test every product. The accredited laboratories must duly issue certificates of quality to say that the product in the vessel meets those specifications. It’s only on that basis that products are then discharged and distributed across the country,” he explained.
He further noted that, by nature, hydrocarbons are not pure compounds, so the Authority regularly specifies a range of acceptable values for test results to be deemed compliant, and that the sulphur content must be moderated to prevent corrosive effects and environmental pollution.
Farouk also provided an update on daily Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) supply, which averaged 66 million litres before the subsidy was withdrawn and now stands at around 50 million litres, with local refineries contributing less than 50 percent of the total. “All of us have experienced a yuletide free from any scarcity. Let me reconfirm that from year to year, we saw an increase in the demand for PMS by 2021, 2022 up to 2023. And just before the current administration came in, the daily PMS supply sufficiency was always more than 60 million, averaging about 66 million a day for PMS. Following the withdrawal of subsidy, we immediately saw a steep decline in consumption and between then and as we speak, we’ve continued to do plus or minus 50 million—that’s a considerable reduction in volumes,” he stated.
He added that of the 50 million litres supplied daily, less than 50 percent is produced by domestic refineries, with the shortfall being imported by other Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs). “The other OMCs are the ones that are importing the shortfall, and if we did nothing to bridge that shortfall, we will have scarcity on our hands. And that’s something that the regulator is mindful to do, ensuring that there is sufficient supply of petroleum products across the country,” he said.
