The Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals is considering stopping petrol sales to major marketers that continue to import the product, amid concerns about product quality, market transparency and the integrity of products sold under the Dangote brand.
Sources familiar with the development said the restriction could take effect this week, although consultations are ongoing and a last-minute intervention could alter the plan.
The refinery is particularly concerned that some marketers may be blending imported petrol, which it considers to be of uncertain quality, with petrol purchased from Dangote before distributing it to consumers. It believes this could make it difficult to determine whether products in the market originated from its refinery or were subsequently mixed by third parties.
A source familiar with the refinery’s position questioned the rationale for importing petrol when Nigeria now has significant domestic refining capacity, arguing that locally refined products should not be mixed with imported supplies of questionable quality and then associated with the Dangote brand.
The refinery has also raised concerns about Nigeria’s regulatory quality-control infrastructure, particularly the absence of a standard laboratory it says could independently verify and certify the specifications of imported petroleum products entering the country.
The development comes as Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector shifts from decades of dependence on imported refined products towards increased domestic refining. The 700,000-barrel-per-day Dangote refinery has become a major supplier to Nigeria and international markets, with the US Energy Information Administration recently linking its operations to a sharp increase in Nigeria’s seaborne petroleum product exports.
Nigeria’s seaborne petroleum product shipments averaged 561,000 barrels per day in the second quarter of 2026, compared with an annual average of 79,000 barrels per day in 2023. Meanwhile, Dangote’s jet fuel has gained international market share, including in the United States and Europe, where the refinery has reportedly become a major external supplier.
