Dangote Petroleum Refinery has dismissed reports claiming it was shutting down for maintenance, insisting that it continues to operate at full capacity while supplying over 50 million litres of petrol daily to the Nigerian market.
This is according to a statement issued by the refinery on Monday, where it described the reports as false, misleading, and deliberately promoted to create panic in the downstream petroleum market.
The Lagos-based 650,000 barrels-per-day facility said production remains stable and uninterrupted, reaffirming its role as a stabilising force in Nigeria’s fuel supply amid recent pump price volatility.
What they are saying
Dangote Petroleum Refinery stated that it has consistently maintained petrol production levels of between 40 million and 50 million litres daily, subject only to market demand.
According to the statement, the refinery produced 50 million litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) on January 4 and evacuated 48 million litres through its gantry the same day, while marketers lifted over 48 million litres last Sunday alone.
The company said current stock levels are sufficient to cover more than 20 days of national consumption, effectively dispelling any concerns about supply shortages.
It also reaffirmed its ex-gantry price of N699 per litre, noting that the pricing remains available to all marketers and bulk consumers.
The statement said, “Dangote Petroleum Refinery continues to operate at scale and retains the capacity to supply between 40 million and 50 million litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) daily through January and February, subject solely to market demand.”
The refinery explained that while routine maintenance was ongoing on specific units such as the Crude Distillation Unit (CDU) and the Residual Fluid Catalytic Cracking (RFCC), these activities did not disrupt overall production due to the integrated design of the facility.
It added that other critical units, including the Naphtha Hydrotreater, CCR Reformer, and Hydrocracker, remain fully operational, producing PMS, Automotive Gas Oil (diesel), and Jet A-1 fuel.
Addressing concerns about product availability, the refinery disclosed that from December 16, 2025, to date, it has loaded between 31 million and 48 million litres of PMS daily, in line with prevailing market demand.
“These volumes are fully verifiable against depot loading records maintained by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) in the normal course of its regulatory responsibilities,” the statement added.
According to the refinery, without domestic refining, petrol prices could rise to as much as N1,400 per litre in a post-subsidy environment, highlighting the stabilising role of local production.
“The refinery’s operations have therefore served as a critical stabilising force in the downstream petroleum market,” the statement added.
What you should know
- In December, Dangote Refinery confirmed its readiness to take full responsibility for Nigeria’s domestic petrol supply, pledging to deliver 1.5 billion litres of PMS monthly, equivalent to 50 million litres per day.
- The supply is set to rise to 1.7 billion litres per month (57 million litres daily) from February 2026.
- Nairametrics reports that the recent drop in petrol prices across Nigeria has been attributed to increased domestic refining by Dangote Refinery.
