The fuel supply arrangement between Dangote Petroleum Refinery and 20 major petroleum marketers, under which they were to collectively offtake 600 million litres of petrol monthly, has collapsed due to pricing disagreements, The PUNCH has exclusively learnt.
The breakdown of the deal coincided with a surge in petrol imports in November 2025, which rose to 1.563 billion litres, according to the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA). The authority’s November 2025 Fact Sheet, State of the Midstream and Downstream Sector, revealed that imported volumes spiked sharply during the period the pricing dispute escalated.
The October 2025 agreement was designed as a pilot scheme, with each of the 20 depot owners expected to lift around 30 million litres from the Dangote Refinery monthly. The National Public Relations Officer of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Chinedu Ukadike, confirmed that the arrangement aimed to stabilise domestic supply and ease rising pump prices. The scheme also sought to streamline product allocation and reduce the layers of middlemen contributing to price distortions.
Under the agreement, Dangote would sell only to the 20 approved marketers, while independent marketers could purchase no more than 250,000 litres, forcing them to rely on the selected marketers for supply. The initial prices were set at N806 per litre for coastal delivery and N828 per litre at the gantry.
However, sources told The PUNCH that the deal, which lasted barely a month, collapsed in November when international petrol prices fell below Dangote’s gantry price. The refinery was reportedly reluctant to adjust its pricing in line with international benchmarks, prompting marketers to turn to imports.
Dangote later reduced its gantry price to N699 per litre—the lowest in 2025—but the delay left depot owners and marketers who bought at N828 per litre facing heavy losses. Data from MEMAN and petroleumprice.ng indicated that average landing costs of imported petrol dropped to N829.77 per litre, below the ex-depot price of locally refined fuel.
The dispute also triggered a public clash between Dangote and the former NMDPRA boss, Farouk Ahmed, over multiple import licences issued to other marketers, which contributed to Ahmed’s resignation in December 2025.
The collapse ended the exclusivity arrangement, and the refinery has since liberalised sales, allowing all marketers to purchase products from 250,000 litres upwards. IPMAN confirmed the October agreement is no longer in force, with the market now open to competition.
Fresh data show the spot price of imported petrol in Nigeria has fallen to around N696 per litre, slightly below Dangote’s current gantry price of N699 per litre. The 30-day average import parity price stands at N772.65 per litre, reflecting easing international crude costs and a stronger naira.
MEMAN noted that fluctuations in import parity directly affect retail pump prices, depot owner profits, and the viability of local refining. Diesel and kerosene prices also trended downward, with spot prices at N844.88 per litre and N882.94 per litre, respectively, influenced by lower benchmark prices, reduced shipping costs, and foreign exchange stability.
