Oil marketers in Nigeria have offered differing perspectives on the current state of petrol supply in the country, with many insisting that supplies are now largely sourced from the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemical, while others maintain that importation remains necessary to meet national demand.
The National Publicity Secretary of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Mr. Chinedu Ukadike, said independent marketers are currently experiencing stability in the supply chain, attributing the development to direct purchases from the Dangote Refinery.
According to him, the availability of petrol has improved significantly, with no recorded shortages even during high-demand periods such as the Christmas season.
Ukadike stressed that falling pump prices and uninterrupted supply suggest that petrol importation has effectively ceased for now.
He explained that Dangote Refinery’s recent price reduction has had a positive ripple effect across the market, enhancing competition and easing distribution challenges.
“Well, since Dangote has reduced his price and we have not complained of any shortage of products, even during the Christmas period when traffic is usually high, there is no scarcity. That shows the supply chain is stable. I don’t think anybody is importing petrol at this moment. All the supplies we are getting now are from Dangote,” Ukadike said.
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He added that the refinery’s decision to supply independent marketers directly has dismantled the traditional three-tier distribution structure, allowing marketers to access products faster and in smaller volumes.
Under the new arrangement, minimum offtake volumes were reportedly reduced from 500,000 litres to 250,000 litres, enabling smaller marketers to pool resources and obtain supplies more efficiently.
Ukadike further commended Dangote Refinery for its openness and transparency, expressing optimism that prices would continue to decline as local refining operations stabilise.
“Once local pricing becomes cheaper, transportation and logistics costs will drop significantly. This policy has started paying off tremendously for independent marketers,” he noted.
However, contrasting views emerged from other industry players. A retail oil marketer, Mr. Edwin Ogah, acknowledged the growing role of domestic refining but argued that petrol importation is still ongoing, primarily as a precautionary measure to build stock buffers and prevent scarcity.
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“I don’t think the narrative that importation has stopped is correct. Imported volumes sometimes appear high because marketers are building buffers for stock security. Nigeria still relies significantly on imports, and cargoes come in batches. It’s not about dumping fuel beyond demand,” Ogah explained.
He maintained that while domestic refining capacity has improved, it has yet to achieve the scale, consistency, and nationwide distribution required to fully replace imports.
Ogah also cited challenges such as foreign exchange availability, port congestion, pipeline integrity, and trucking costs as factors that continue to influence supply dynamics.
“Many marketers are still importing fuel to bridge the supply gap left by insufficient local refining. Any marketer with access to FX and credit will continue to import, especially during peak consumption periods,” he added, noting that full-scale, seamless direct supply from Dangote Refinery is still evolving.
The debate follows earlier reports suggesting that a pilot supply agreement between Dangote Refinery and 20 major petroleum marketers—under which 600 million litres of petrol were to be supplied monthly—had collapsed over pricing disputes, allegedly triggering increased imports in November 2025.
Data from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) showed that petrol imports rose to 1.563 billion litres in November 2025, up from 828 million litres in October.
Dangote Refinery, however, dismissed claims linking the import surge to any breakdown in supply arrangements, describing such reports as inaccurate and misleading. The company stated that no agreement had collapsed and that its engagement with the downstream market was designed to meet rising demand while promoting competition and efficiency.
Independent marketers also distanced themselves from the claims, insisting that supplies from Dangote Refinery have significantly improved nationwide availability.