Dangote Petroleum Refinery, owned by Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote, mentioned it provided 43.3 million liters of petrol to the Nigerian market on Saturday, rejecting studies that its petrol unit had been shut for upkeep.
Officers on the facility, who requested to not be recognized as a result of they aren’t licensed to talk publicly, mentioned operations have continued usually and no vehicles have been turned again. They described studies of a shutdown as inaccurate and deceptive.
“Have we stopped loading or turned again a single truck?” one official mentioned. “On Saturday alone, we loaded 43.30 million liters of PMS.” The amount, the official added, is about half greater than Nigeria’s estimated each day petrol consumption.
Depot costs bounce; Dangote denies halt
The refinery’s feedback observe a bounce in ex-depot petrol costs throughout Lagos, Warri and different buying and selling hubs, with some personal depots elevating costs above N800 ($0.55) per liter. Entrepreneurs had linked the will increase to studies that the Dangote refinery had halted petrol processing.
Dangote refinery officers mentioned some merchants have been utilizing the studies to justify larger costs, regardless of the refinery promoting petrol at N699 ($0.48) per liter after slicing its gantry worth in December from N828 ($0.57).
Knowledge from petroleumprice.ng confirmed that depot costs climbed sharply inside 48 hours. Eterna and Built-in depots raised costs to N800 ($0.55) per liter, whereas Shellplux and AIPEC have been promoting at about N726 ($0.50) earlier within the week. In Warri, costs rose to as excessive as N805 ($0.56) per liter by Friday.
Dangote refinery assures regular petrol provide
One other refinery official mentioned the corporate holds sufficient petrol to satisfy home demand for greater than 20 days, searching for to calm fears of shortages.
“We now have inventory that covers over 20 days of Nigerian consumption,” the official mentioned. “There isn’t a provide disruption.” The refinery urged motorists to purchase from stations dishing out its merchandise, saying provide stays regular.
Retailers face losses amid Dangote minimize
Dangote’s December worth discount reshaped the market, forcing a number of retailers to chop pump costs as motorists averted higher-priced stations. Entrepreneurs have mentioned the transfer left them nursing heavy losses.
Dangote, talking earlier, mentioned the refinery was additionally absorbing losses however would fairly accomplish that than see gasoline imports dominate the market. Trade estimates recommend importers might lose greater than N100 billion ($70 million) month-to-month, whereas the refinery might forgo about N91 billion ($63.3 million) a month as a result of lower cost.
Refinery goals for 700,000 barrels
The refinery, which started operations in 2024, now processes about 650,000 barrels per day and is predicted to succeed in 700,000 barrels. Regulators have beforehand mentioned local supply fell short of targets in November as imports rose. In December 2025, the refinery received a Ghanaian crude shipment amid restore work that trimmed consumption.
