The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has refuted allegations that it imported over 200 million liters of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, in February 2025 despite recent refinery operations in the country.
In a statement signed by Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Olufemi Soneye released on Tuesday, the company dismissed the report as “completely false, baseless, and a reckless misrepresentation of facts.”
NNPC stated that in 2025, not a single liter of PMS was imported by NNPC Limited.
“We neither grant import licenses nor have any control over private merchants’ import operations.”
This contradicts earlier reports that NNPC received two cargoes on Monday, February 10, carrying 37,000 metric tons of PMS each, totaling 99.2 million liters.
Reports also indicated that a 20,000-metric-ton (26.82 million liters) shipment was loaded on Saturday, February 8, while another 37,000 metric tons (about 50 million liters) arrived on Wednesday, February 12.
These cargoes reportedly arrived in Lagos ports, while 20,000 metric tons of PMS were received in Calabar on February 5.
NNPC maintains that these reports are inaccurate and misleading and will take all necessary legal measures to hold accountable those responsible for fabricating and disseminating falsehoods about our operations
“Attributing all PMS imports to NNPC is not just misleading—it is outright deceptive and irresponsible journalism that ignores basic fact-checking principles,” the company stated.
The company earlier announced in January that the 150,000 barrels per day (bpd) Port Harcourt Refinery and Kaduna Refinery are undergoing a comprehensive overhaul, designed to meet world-class standards and state-owned Warri refinery has resumed crude oil processing in December.
Although NNPC denied importing PMS in 2025, it stated that it has the capacity to do so if needed.
“While NNPC Limited has not imported PMS in 2025, let it be clear that there is no legal restriction preventing us from doing so if necessary,” the company mentioned.
As the leading energy firm in Nigeria, NNPC is responsible for ensuring energy security, and it may intervene to import PMS to stabilise the market in the event of a supply crisis.
The company also commented on the effect of the misinformation:
“Misinformation of this magnitude does a grave disservice to the public, distorts market realities, and misleads key stakeholders. NNPC Limited will not tolerate the spread of false and malicious reports aimed at undermining its reputation,” the statement concluded.
