Despite being one of the world's biggest oil producers,
Nigeria imports most of its fuel and is currently facing
a severe shortage.
It does not have enough oil refineries and even if the
four it has were running at full capacity, they would
only supply a quarter of the country's needs, says John
Ashbourne, an economist at the financial research firm
Capital Economics.
To meet demands, the national oil company imports
around 50% of its fuel needs. The remainder is then
supposed to be imported by private fuel distributors.
But for months these companies have been reducing
their imports leading to the current fuel shortages.
The BBC's Nigeria correspondent Martin Patience looks
at three reasons why:
1) Outstanding debts
For years, the Nigerian government paid a fuel subsidy
to make it cheaper at the pump. But it was hugely
expensive when the price of oil was high.
The current government, which came to power last
May, said it inherited massive debts from the previous
administration.
Fuel distributors were initially left out of pocket.
Finally, the government paid the bill in November. But
by that time, companies had already started slowing
fuel imports.
2) Currency crisis
The slump in global oil prices is hammering the
Nigerian economy.
It has led to a shortage of the US dollars needed to
pay for imports.
With the country facing a currency crisis, the
distributors are struggling to get their hands on dollars
to pay for fuel imports.
They say they are being forced to use the black market
where they pay a far higher rate.
3) Fuel subsidy dispute
In January, the government ended official fuel subsides
saying the cost of oil had fallen so much that they
were no longer required.
But the fuel distributors disagree.
In protest, some companies stopped selling fuel during
this dispute.
As the shortages increased, others hiked their prices
above the official government rate - leading to
accusations of profiteering.
Some analysts predict that until the fuel subsidy is
reintroduced or official retail rates are allowed to rise,
distributors will continue to limit the supply.
And for Nigerian motorists that could mean the long
wait at the pumps will go on.
