Onome Amuge
The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has moved to counter what it describes as damaging speculation about its operations, highlighting the increasingly central role the facility plays in Nigeria’s post-subsidy fuel market and broader economic stability.
The company also accused some fuel importers of spreading misinformation to justify recent increases in pump prices, warning that such practices undermine national interest and deepen the cost-of-living burden on consumers. Without local refining capacity, it claimed, petrol prices could rise to as high as N1,400 per litre in the current post-subsidy environment.
In a statement issued recently, the refinery dismissed reports that it was preparing to shut down for maintenance, saying such claims were inaccurate and misleading. Rather than signalling a slowdown, the company said production remains steady, with sufficient capacity to meet domestic fuel demand at a time when consumers and businesses are highly sensitive to supply disruptions.
The response indicates how closely market sentiment is now tied to the performance of the privately owned refinery, which has become a cornerstone of Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector. Since the removal of fuel subsidies, petrol pricing has been largely shaped by market forces, exposing the economy to volatility and making reliable local supply more critical than ever.
According to the refinery, it currently has the capability to supply between 40 million and 50 million litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) daily throughout January and February, depending on demand conditions. On January 4 alone, it produced about 50 million litres of petrol, evacuating roughly 48 million litres through its gantry system. These volumes, the company said, showcase that operations are running at scale.
Management also disclosed that existing stock levels are sufficient to cover more than 20 days of national consumption, a reassurance aimed at calming fears of scarcity that often trigger panic buying and price spikes. In a market still adjusting to deregulation, even rumours of supply interruptions can have immediate consequences for transport costs, food prices and household spending.
While acknowledging that routine maintenance is ongoing on certain units, including the Crude Distillation Unit and the Residual Fluid Catalytic Cracking unit, the refinery stressed that such activities have not disrupted overall production. Thanks to the integrated configuration of its facilities, other key units, such as the Naphtha Hydrotreater, Continuous Catalyst Regeneration Reformer and Hydrocracker, remain fully operational, producing petrol, diesel and Jet A-1 fuel.
From December 16, 2025, to date, daily petrol loadings from the refinery’s gantry have ranged between 31 million and 48 million litres, broadly in line with market demand. The company noted that these figures are verifiable through depot loading records maintained by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, an appeal to transparency in a sector long criticised for data opacity.
Pricing remains a major point of contention. Dangote Refinery reaffirmed that its ex-gantry price of N699 per litre for PMS is still in force and available to all marketers and bulk buyers. It urged filling stations, institutional consumers and large-scale users to prioritise locally refined products, arguing they are cheaper, more reliable and of better quality than imported fuel.
