Abuja —

The Nigerian government has announced plans to create a national strategic petroleum products reserve this year, to protect the economy from the volatility in the international market.

While addressing the press, Farouk Ahmed, head of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA, outlined the initiative as a key strategy to enhance energy security.

The proposed reserve would mitigate supply shocks by expanding Nigeria’s domestic refining capacity, notably highlighted by the 650,000-barrel-per-day Dangote Refinery.

Despite being oil-rich, Nigeria has suffered persistent fuel shortages, often resulting in long queues.

Currently, Nigeria’s reserves are only sufficient for approximately 30 days, but officials plan to establish a significantly larger national strategic stock. The initiative is modeled on the United States’ Strategic Petroleum Reserve, yet officials have yet to reveal the exact future volume.