Petrol import ban divides entrepreneurs after Dangote hikes value

Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector is witnessing rising disagreement amongst oil entrepreneurs following the Federal Authorities’s suspension of petrol import licences, even because the Dangote Petroleum Refinery on Friday raised its depot value of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) to N1,175 per litre amid rising world crude oil costs.

Dangote reversed an earlier discount of N100 introduced earlier within the week, as a contemporary surge in world crude oil costs pushes up refining prices. The value adjustment additionally affected the refinery’s coastal provide value, which rose from N1,378,548 per metric tonne to N1,512,648 per metric tonne, in accordance with an official discover issued to petroleum entrepreneurs on Friday.

A senior official who spoke with one in all our correspondents anonymously as a result of he was not authorised to talk confirmed on Friday that the refinery adjusted the value upward after briefly decreasing the ex-depot value to N1,075 per litre on March 10, 2026, a transfer that had triggered elevated shopping for exercise amongst depot operators.

The official confirmed the most recent adjustment throughout a phone dialog. “Sure, it’s true,” the official stated when requested in regards to the upward value evaluate. The brand new pricing construction was formally communicated to entrepreneurs in a discover signed by the refinery’s Group Business Operations Division.

The discover learn, “Pricey esteemed buyer, please learn that because of the present world geo-political scenario, which has additional escalated, the PMS gantry and coastal value has been reviewed and up to date.”

In line with the discover, the gantry value, which represents the price of petrol loaded instantly into vehicles on the refinery depot, has elevated from N1,075 per litre to N1,175 per litre. Equally, the coastal provide value was adjusted upward from N1,378,548 per metric tonne to N1,512,648 per metric tonne.

The change represents a N134,100 enhance per metric tonne, equal to about 9.7 per cent. “Please word that this new gantry and coastal value, as detailed above, can be utilized to all unloaded PMS allocation efficient 1 pm at the moment, March 13, 2026,” the discover acknowledged.

The value enhance comes simply days after the refinery diminished the ex-depot value of petrol by N100 or about 8.5 per cent, from N1,175 per litre to N1,075 per litre earlier within the week. Checks on Petroleumprice.ng additionally confirmed the event, indicating that the value revision had disrupted buying and selling actions throughout a number of petroleum depots.

In line with market sources quoted by the platform, the sudden upward adjustment prompted depot operators in a number of hubs to briefly droop gross sales as they awaited readability on the brand new pricing construction.

“Depot homeowners throughout a number of hubs have briefly halted transactions following the refinery’s upward evaluate of the ex-depot value,” a market supply accustomed to the event stated.

Equally, loading operations on the refinery have been additionally briefly suspended to permit for inventory reconciliation and alignment with the brand new pricing framework. A refinery supply defined that the choice was largely pushed by rising world crude costs, which instantly have an effect on refining prices.

“The revision displays the surge in world crude oil costs. Brent crude moved from round $91 per barrel to about $100 per barrel, and that enhance feeds instantly into the price of refining,” the supply stated.

Entrepreneurs disagree

Amidst this, stakeholders, together with power consultants, economists, and Nigerian staff, have raised alarm over the suspension of petrol imports by the Federal Authorities, urging pressing value regulation because the Dangote Petroleum Refinery takes command of Nigeria’s N14.4tn petrol market, signalling a significant shake-up within the nation’s power sector.

Oil entrepreneurs have additionally expressed divergent views over the affect of the halt in petrol import licences and the manufacturing capability of the Dangote refinery to fulfill native gas wants, following claims that the power now provides the majority of the nation’s gas demand.

The disagreement comes after the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority indicated that native manufacturing accounted for a major share of petrol provide in February. Consequently, the regulator stated it refused to grant import licences within the first quarter of 2026.

Whereas the Impartial Petroleum Entrepreneurs Affiliation of Nigeria backed the ban on gas imports and acknowledged the capability of the 650,000-barrel Dangote refinery to provide the petrol wanted by the nation, many main petrol sellers and importers stated the nation nonetheless wanted imports to make up for the shortfalls.

Talking with one in all our correspondents, the Vice President of the Impartial Petroleum Entrepreneurs Affiliation of Nigeria, Ahmed Fashola, supported the regulator’s choice to halt the issuance of petrol import licences, saying the nation ought to prioritise home refining.

Fashola stated the regulator’s figures must be trusted, noting that the authority has entry to correct knowledge on gas provide and consumption. “Nicely, we help and agree with the NMDPRA and their report as a result of they’ve the data and the info. So there isn’t any want for anyone to doubt that,” he stated.

In line with him, Nigeria’s rising reliance on native provide represents progress for the downstream petroleum sector. “If at the moment we’re capable of obtain 90 or 92 per cent of our provide domestically, I feel we’re doing properly. We must always give it to Dangote,” he acknowledged.

Fashola added that the emergence of the refinery has helped protect Nigerians from potential spikes in gas costs amid world geopolitical tensions within the Center East. With the struggle among the many US, Iran, and Israel, Fashola argued that the value of petrol would have risen to N3,000 or N4,000 per litre.

“As a result of, if not for Dangote, with the little disruption and the disaster between the US and Iran, by now we’d have seen a whole lot of queues and petrol promoting perhaps for N3,000 or N4,000 per litre,” he stated.

He additionally expressed help for the suspension of import licences, describing it as essential to encourage home refining capability. “So, we must be grateful to Dangote. And now we have to help it. We’ve to encourage him to do extra. And we equally help the problem of stopping the importation licence. It’s the way in which to go. We’ve to help our native manufacturing. We’ve to encourage the refiners. We’ve to help them in any approach for them to succeed. After they succeed, the nation additionally succeeds,” Fashola added.

Nonetheless, some main sellers and importers who spoke on situation of anonymity to keep away from being victimised questioned claims that the refinery provided your entire nationwide demand for petrol in the course of the interval.

One of many entrepreneurs stated figures printed by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority confirmed that the Dangote refinery produced a median of about 36 million litres of petrol per day in February, whereas Nigeria’s every day consumption stood at about 56 million litres in the course of the month, asking the regulator to reveal the supply of the over 20 million litres per day if imports have been simply 3 million litres per day.

“The authority simply printed the numbers for final month, for February. It’s in every single place now; it’s everywhere in the press. The regulator stated Dangote produced a median of 36 million litres per day, and the nation was consuming over 50 million litres per day. Does that present that Dangote provided the entire nation? No. There was a shortfall,” the vendor stated.

The marketer added that the figures launched by the regulator clearly indicated a spot between provide and demand. “In their very own report, they stated Dangote provided about 36 million litres per day, whereas the nation’s consumption was about 56 million litres per day. What does that imply? That was a shortfall,” one other marketer corroborated.

One other marketer additionally dismissed claims that the refinery provided your entire home demand, saying, “So when folks say Dangote provided your entire nation, that’s not appropriate based mostly on the regulator’s personal numbers, or does that imply the regulator is mendacity? We’re not in opposition to native refining, however there must be importation to save lots of the market from monopoly.”

Nigeria has traditionally depended closely on imported refined petroleum merchandise because of restricted home refining capability, regardless of being one in all Africa’s largest crude oil producers. Nonetheless, the graduation of operations on the Dangote refinery, extensively thought to be Africa’s largest refinery, has considerably altered the dynamics of the downstream sector.

The ability, with a nameplate capability of 650,000 barrels per day, started supplying petrol to the Nigerian market in September 2024, elevating expectations that the nation may regularly cut back or eradicate gas imports.

Currently, the NMDPRA stated that rising home manufacturing helps to cut back reliance on imports, with native provide accounting for a big portion of nationwide consumption in January and February. The regulator has additionally hinted that petrol import licences could now not be mandatory if native refineries are capable of persistently meet home demand.

Trade stakeholders, nevertheless, say the transition from import dependence to full native provide will take time, as home refining capability continues to ramp as much as meet Nigeria’s estimated every day petrol consumption.

On Wednesday, The PidomNigeria reported that the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority confirmed that it had not issued any import licence for petrol this 12 months, saying that it was now not wanted as a result of native manufacturing now meets nationwide necessities.

Knowledge from the NMDPRA, a Federal Authorities company, confirmed that the Dangote refinery accounted for about 92 per cent of Nigeria’s every day petrol provide in February, because the regulatory company stopped the importation of petrol.

Figures launched within the February 2026 reality sheet by the NMDPRA confirmed that native refineries provided 36.5 million litres per day of petrol in February 2026, whereas imports contributed simply three million litres per day.

This introduced the whole nationwide every day provide for February to 39.5 million litres, with home refining accounting for roughly 92 per cent of the amount, a pointy shift from the long-standing dependence on imported gas. The information signifies a drastic drop in imports in contrast with the earlier month.

The Dangote refinery is the one plant producing petrol presently in Nigeria. Different modular refineries produce diesel.

In the meantime, the Chief Government of the NMDPRA, Saidu Mohammed, earlier warned in opposition to makes an attempt to push Nigeria again into an period of heavy petrol importation, saying the nation should maintain the beneficial properties made in home refining.

Mohammed confirmed The PidomNigeria’s unique report that Nigeria didn’t difficulty a single licence for the importation of petrol this 12 months, as a part of efforts to strengthen native refining capability.

He made this recognized on Tuesday whereas receiving a delegation from PidomNigeria Nigeria Restricted on the company’s headquarters in Abuja throughout a courtesy go to geared toward strengthening strategic partnerships between the media organisation and key establishments within the power sector.

Talking in the course of the assembly, Mohammed stated some pursuits have been nonetheless pushing for the continuation of large-scale gas importation regardless of the nation’s progress in boosting home refining capability.

In the meantime, it must be famous that world oil costs rose sharply in current hours following escalating tensions within the Center East involving the US, Iran, and Israel. The geopolitical disaster has heightened fears of disruptions to world crude provide, notably across the strategic Strait of Hormuz, one of many world’s most important oil transit routes via which roughly 20 per cent of world oil shipments cross every day.

Issues about attainable disruptions within the chokepoint have pushed world oil benchmarks increased, with Brent crude buying and selling above $100 per barrel in the course of the week. Nigeria’s flagship crude grade, Bonny Gentle, additionally surged above the psychological $100 per barrel threshold amid the volatility in world power markets.

The rally displays a rising “struggle premium” in world oil costs as merchants issue within the threat of provide disruptions within the Center East. On the peak of the market rally earlier within the week, Nigerian crude costs briefly climbed to about $120 per barrel earlier than easing to round $100 per barrel as markets entered a consolidation part.