KEY POINTS
- Dangote Refinery reshapes fuel market with direct petrol supplies.
- Private depots see deserted operations amid shifting dynamics.
- Fuel queues ease as refinery strengthens energy security.
Dangote Petroleum Refinery’s direct petrol supplies to marketers left private depots across Lagos and nearby areas largely deserted this week, reshaping the country’s downstream sector.
Depot owners, once central to distribution, are watching business slow sharply as the refinery rolls out 1,000 trucks daily and cuts into their margins.
Dangote refinery disrupts fuel depot activity
Industry sources also said that skeletal operations at depots stemmed from expectations that marketers would now bypass them for direct supplies. The shift marks a significant break in decades of practice.
Olatide Jeremiah, chief executive of Petroleumprice.ng, said Dangote’s entry as the dominant player has unsettled the sector. “For the first time, global oil prices are rising and depot prices are dropping,” he said.
Fuel queues ease as direct supply grows
At a conference marking the refinery’s first year of petrol production, Aliko Dangote said Nigeria’s long battle with fuel shortages is ending with Dangote Refinery direct petrol supplies. He noted that queues stretching back to 1975 have steadily disappeared since production began in September 2024.
“We are now in a new era,” he said, further describing the refinery’s output as a turning point for Nigeria’s energy security.
Dangote refinery seen as risky bet
Dangote acknowledged the project came with high personal and financial risk. While industry experts and lenders had warned such ventures were usually reserved for governments, not private entrepreneurs. “If it had gone wrong, lenders would have taken our assets. But we believed in Nigeria and Africa,” he said.
Despite skepticism, the refinery has positioned itself as a force capable of redefining pricing and supply in one of Africa’s largest oil markets.
