Dangote Supplies 43 million Litres, Dismisses Claims of Petrol Shutdown

Officials of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery have disclosed that the facility supplied 43.3 million litres of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) to the Nigerian market on Saturday, dismissing reports that its petrol processing unit had been shut down for maintenance.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to lack of authorisation, said the claims of a shutdown were unfounded and were being used by some marketers as justification to increase petrol gantry prices, despite the refinery recently reducing its price from N828 to N699 per litre.

Reports had emerged over the weekend that several depots raised petrol prices above N800 per litre, citing an alleged suspension of operations at the refinery. However, a source at the $20 billion facility questioned the rationale behind the price hikes by depot operators.

Responding to questions about a possible maintenance downtime, the source said the refinery had continued loading operations without interruption. “That is not true. Have we stopped loading or turned back any truck that came to load? On Saturday alone, we loaded 43.30 million litres of PMS,” the source stated.

According to the official, the volume supplied was about 50 per cent higher than Nigeria’s average daily petrol consumption. Another refinery source added that there was sufficient fuel stock to meet national demand for more than 20 days, assuring the public that there was no risk of supply disruption or fuel scarcity.

“We currently have stock exceeding 20 days of Nigeria’s consumption,” the official said.

The source also expressed concern that some traders were deliberately increasing prices to create tension in the downstream sector, urging Nigerians to buy petrol from filling stations dispensing products from the refinery. “Consumers should patronise stations selling our products. They will get what they need there,” the source said.

Despite these assurances, petrol prices at several private depots in Lagos and other major fuel trading centres reportedly climbed to as high as N800 per litre. Market data showed that the average ex-depot price of petrol rose sharply within 48 hours, raising fears of a potential increase in pump prices nationwide.

While the refinery maintained a selling price of N699 per litre, prices at other depots surged above N800. Some depots increased prices to N800 per litre from around N726 earlier in the week, reflecting a jump of more than N70 per litre within days. Others adjusted prices to between N780 and N805 per litre across key locations, including Warri, one of Nigeria’s major petroleum logistics hubs.

Marketers were said to have attributed the price increases to a supposed shutdown of the refinery’s petrol unit. However, refinery officials reiterated that operations were ongoing and that there were no plans for any shutdown.

In December, the refinery reduced its petrol gantry price by N129, a move that significantly undercut import-dependent marketers and led to heavy losses across the downstream sector. The price cut also triggered adjustments in pump prices at several filling stations nationwide, forcing many outlets to lower prices amid increased patronage of stations selling refinery-produced petrol.

Despite concerns from marketers about financial losses, the management of the Dangote Group has maintained its commitment to the new pricing structure, stating that it would rather absorb losses than allow large-scale petrol imports to continue. Analysts have suggested that recent price hikes by some marketers are attempts to recover earlier losses, though the refinery has ruled out any supply disruptions that could support such increases.