Nigeria has the potential to save $10bn annually on petroleum products imports going by the burgeoning domestic refining capacity, The Democratic Front (TDF) has observed.

TDF stated this in a statement jointly signed by Mallam Danjuma Mohammed and Chief Wale Adedayo, its chairman and secretary respectively.

Daily Trust reports that Nigeria recently ramped up local refining with the birth of the $20bn Dangote Petroleum Refinery.

This was followed by the reactivation of the federal government’s refineries in Port Harcourt and Warri which recently commenced operation.

TDF said it welcomed with joy and a renewed sense of patriotism, Bloomberg’s report and analysis on the 8-year record decrease in Nigeria’s petroleum products importation index.

But experts say the gains of the reduced importation can be sustained through an adequate supply of crude oil to the domestic refineries.

In recent times, domestic refiners, especially Dangote Refinery, have been relying on crude oil importation to bridge the supply gap from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).