Wafric News – May 12, 2025

Lagos, Nigeria — The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has pushed back firmly against allegations from oil marketers suggesting the plant cannot meet Nigeria’s domestic fuel needs, describing the claims as part of a broader resistance from powerful interest groups profiting from fuel importation.

In a statement to WafricNews, senior officials from the $20 billion refinery maintained that the facility is more than capable of serving Nigeria's fuel demands while also exporting refined products to neighbouring African nations.

“We’re producing and loading out millions of litres every day. Not only are we meeting local needs, we’re exporting too,” a Dangote official said.

This comes after Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man and founder of the refinery, accused entrenched interests—whom he referred to as “cabals”—of working to sabotage the refinery’s operations. He said these actors had long benefitted from government-subsidised fuel imports and are now threatened by the emergence of self-reliant domestic production.

But the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN) pushed back on that narrative. Its Executive Secretary, Olufemi Adewole, dismissed the existence of a cabal, though he admitted there were “vested interests” seeking to protect their investments in fuel imports and distribution infrastructure.

According to Adewole, the Dangote Refinery, despite its massive 650,000 barrels-per-day capacity, is not yet meeting local demand. “Private depots are still bridging the gap,” he claimed, citing figures from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).

However, Dangote officials insist the criticisms are exaggerated and rooted in fear of losing market control. They argue that previous fuel consumption figures were inflated during Nigeria’s subsidy era, and that current realities will expose the true demand.

“They say we can’t meet demand, but how do they know what’s in our tanks? Ask them to show Nigerians the actual national consumption,” one refinery official said. “We have enough. The numbers speak for themselves.”

Indeed, the refinery claims daily production capacity of:

With local consumption hovering around 46 million litres, refinery executives say there’s more than enough to go around. The excess, they confirm, is being exported to other African markets—part of Dangote’s vision to create an African refinery serving African needs.

“We’re not just refining for Nigeria. We are redefining African energy sovereignty,” Dangote said during a recent inspection tour.

The refinery’s storage infrastructure further underscores its capacity:

In response to DAPPMAN’s accusation that Dangote is using price cuts to push competitors out, refinery officials argue that some marketers are simply reacting to a loss of monopoly—and to the end of an era of profiteering.

“These importers crying foul are the same ones who made fortunes through round-tripping and opaque documentation under the subsidy regime,” a Dangote representative said. “They don’t care about the ordinary Nigerian. It’s about their bottom line.”

As the debate continues, regulatory voices have not helped clarify the picture. Two top NMDPRA officials recently gave conflicting figures: one saying Nigeria consumes 50 million litres of petrol daily—with local refineries contributing less than 50%—while the other revealed that petrol imports have dropped sharply to 14.7 million litres per day, down from 44.6 million litres in August 2024.

The conflicting data has led many to question whether Nigeria even knows its real daily fuel consumption—something Dangote says his refinery will soon expose with transparent tracking systems.

“Every litre we load is traceable. No more ghost trucks, no more phantom ships. The truth will come out,” he said.

Still, DAPPMAN insists it is not fighting local production, but is only advocating for fair competition. “We’re not saboteurs,” Adewole argued. “We just want a market that’s not dominated by one player.”

Despite the resistance, Dangote remains confident. “I’ve fought battles before. This one will be no different. At the end of the day, Nigeria will win—and so will Africa.”


By WafricNews Business Desk.