Aliko Dangote's refinery loads 43 million liters, denies petrol shutdown

Dangote Petroleum Refinery, owned by Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote, said it supplied 43.3 million liters of petrol to the Nigerian market on Saturday, rejecting reports that its petrol unit had been shut for maintenance.

Officials at the facility, who asked not to be identified because they are not authorized to speak publicly, said operations have continued normally and no trucks have been turned back. They described reports of a shutdown as inaccurate and misleading.

“Have we stopped loading or turned back a single truck?” one official said. “On Saturday alone, we loaded 43.30 million liters of PMS.” The volume, the official added, is about half more than Nigeria’s estimated daily petrol consumption.

Depot prices jump; Dangote denies halt

The refinery’s comments follow a jump in ex-depot petrol prices across Lagos, Warri and other trading hubs, with some private depots raising prices above N800 ($0.55) per liter. Marketers had linked the increases to reports that the Dangote refinery had halted petrol processing. 

Dangote refinery officials said some traders were using the reports to justify higher prices, despite the refinery selling petrol at N699 ($0.48) per liter after cutting its gantry price in December from N828 ($0.57). 

Data from petroleumprice.ng showed that depot prices climbed sharply within 48 hours. Eterna and Integrated depots raised prices to N800 ($0.55) per liter, while Shellplux and AIPEC were selling at about N726 ($0.50) earlier in the week. In Warri, prices rose to as high as N805 ($0.56) per liter by Friday.

Dangote refinery assures steady petrol supply

Another refinery official said the company holds enough petrol to meet domestic demand for more than 20 days, seeking to calm fears of shortages. 

“We have stock that covers over 20 days of Nigerian consumption,” the official said. “There is no supply disruption.” The refinery urged motorists to buy from stations dispensing its products, saying supply remains steady.

Retailers face losses amid Dangote cut

Dangote’s December price reduction reshaped the market, forcing several retailers to cut pump prices as motorists avoided higher-priced stations. Marketers have said the move left them nursing heavy losses. 

Dangote, speaking earlier, said the refinery was also absorbing losses but would rather do so than see fuel imports dominate the market. Industry estimates suggest importers could lose more than N100 billion ($70 million) monthly, while the refinery may forgo about N91 billion ($63.3 million) a month due to the lower price.

Refinery aims for 700,000 barrels

The refinery, which began operations in 2024, now processes about 650,000 barrels per day and is expected to reach 700,000 barrels. Regulators have previously said local supply fell short of targets in November as imports rose. In December 2025, the refinery received a Ghanaian crude shipment amid repair work that trimmed intake.