The Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals says it may stop selling petrol directly to major marketers who also import fuel, citing concerns over product adulteration and damage to its brand reputation.
The 700,000-barrel-per-day refinery disclosed that the move is under consideration and could take effect this week, pending consultations and possible intervention by stakeholders.
Refinery mulls sales restriction over quality fears
Sources close to the refinery said management is worried that some marketers are mixing imported petrol of uncertain quality with Dangote-supplied fuel before pushing it to retail outlets.
“It is difficult to understand why we would invest heavily in producing high-quality petroleum products for Nigerians, only for those products to be mixed with imported products of uncertain quality and the resulting product to be associated with the refinery,” a source familiar with the position said.
The concern comes at a time when Nigeria is shifting away from decades of fuel import dependence toward domestic refining. The refinery noted that without clear traceability, it cannot guarantee what consumers ultimately buy at the pump.
Blending practices threaten brand integrity
According to the company, the immediate problem is blending. Marketers purchase Dangote petrol, then combine it with imported cargoes before distribution.
The refinery argues this makes it nearly impossible for consumers and regulators to distinguish between fuel refined at Lekki and fuel that has been altered downstream. That, it says, puts the Dangote brand at risk and undermines public trust in locally refined products.
Officials also flagged the absence of a standard independent laboratory under the regulator to test and certify all imported products entering the country.
Push for tighter regulation as domestic refining grows
The development comes as Nigeria’s exports rise sharply. Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration shows Nigeria’s seaborne petroleum product shipments averaged 561,000 barrels per day in Q2 2026, up from 79,000 bpd in 2023. Dangote’s jet fuel has also become a top export to the U.S. and Europe.
With domestic capacity now available, the refinery says protecting quality standards will be critical to sustaining the gains and ensuring Nigerians get fuel that meets international specifications.
