As petrol prices continued to rise across Nigeria over the weekend, the Dangote Petroleum Refinery has challenged marketers to bring their trucks for loading, insisting that it has more than 310 million litres of petrol available for supply to the local market and export.
The Vice President of the Dangote Group, Devakumar Edwin, made this known on Friday during a media tour of the refinery. He assured that the company had sufficient stock of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) to meet national demand, contrary to claims that production issues had caused fuel scarcity.
According to Edwin, some marketers might have increased prices in anticipation of limited supply from Dangote Refinery. However, he dismissed such speculation and invited them to come forward for loading.
“So, this one is again a campaign to try to say the prices will go up. I can go and try to increase my filling station price; maybe Dangote is not supplying. Bring your tankers. We will load. Any number of tankers you bring, we’ll load,” Edwin declared. “It’s a challenge I’m throwing today. No one can come and tell me I’m not loading. We can load any number of tankers you bring. So, you can see whether I have the capacity to produce or not. We have more than 310 million litres as of now.”
He explained that the refinery’s recent slowdown in crude intake was a normal operational decision linked to inventory management, not production failure. “When the prices are a bit low, we buy a lot. When our stocks are going down, we buy a lot. But if your inventory of crude is very high, nobody would like to lock so much money into their tanks because it’s money locked in the form of crude oil. So, we reduce our inflow, which is what happened,” he said.
Edwin added that it was wrong to assume the refinery was not working. “No factory works 100 per cent every day without a problem. But if there is a problem, whether it affects your final production or not is the key issue. Major businesses have what we call turnaround maintenance, usually once in two or three years. For a new refinery like this, it could be once in five years,” he explained.
He noted that the Dangote Fertiliser Plant also underwent a similar maintenance exercise last year, which temporarily reduced output. “But here, as I was explaining, I have more than 310 million litres of PMS as of today inside my tanks, apart from the production which is coming out every day,” Edwin emphasised.
The Dangote executive reiterated that the refinery is capable of supplying all of Nigeria’s demand for diesel, petrol, and aviation fuel, while still exporting about half of its output. “It’s a very large refinery,” he said. “A 650,000-barrel refinery producing 94 per cent lighter products — only 6 per cent comes as carbon black feedstock. It’s not like the old Nigerian refineries that produce a lot of heavy fuel oil. Our production of lighter products is much, much more than Nigeria’s requirements. We are producing, and you can come and see our stock position.”
Despite Edwin’s assurance, petrol prices have continued to rise sharply in recent days, moving from around N865 per litre to nearly N1,000 per litre in major cities. The situation has left many Nigerians confused, especially as the two main pricing factors — crude oil and exchange rate — have both remained relatively stable.
The naira, which traded at around N1,700/$1 in the first quarter of 2025, has strengthened to about N1,470/$1, while Brent crude prices have dropped from over $80 per barrel earlier in the year to around $60 per barrel.
According to data from energy intelligence firm Kpler, crude oil prices fell sharply last week after global market tensions caused a brief selloff. The fall coincided with a sudden jump in local petrol prices by depot owners and marketers, deepening consumer frustration.
The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has blamed depot owners for the price hike, which has pushed pump prices to between N930 and N950 per litre across the country.
Following the increases, filling stations in Lagos, Ogun, and Abuja adjusted their prices. NNPC Retail outlets raised their prices to N928 per litre but later reviewed them down to N920 over the weekend.
The NNPC spokesperson, Andy Odeh, explained that the adjustment reflected higher depot prices. Meanwhile, Dangote’s distribution partners, MRS and Heyden, reportedly sold petrol at N925 and N923 per litre, respectively, after the refinery increased its ex-depot price from N820 to N870 per litre.
Despite these developments, Edwin maintained that the refinery remains committed to providing stable supply and transparency in the fuel market. “We are producing. We have stock. Bring your trucks, and we will load,” he reaffirmed.
