Dangote Petroleum Refinery on Monday dismissed reports claiming it had shut down operations for maintenance, saying it continues to operate at full capacity and supplies over 50 million litres of petrol daily to the Nigerian market.
In a statement, the refinery described the reports as false and misleading, warning that such claims could create panic in the downstream petroleum market.
The 650,000 barrels-per-day Lagos-based facility said production remains stable and uninterrupted, despite recent volatility in pump prices across the country.
“Dangote Petroleum Refinery continues to operate at scale and retains the capacity to supply between 40 million and 50 million litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) daily through January and February, subject solely to market demand,” the company said.
Fuel supply and market stability
According to the statement, the refinery produced 50 million litres of PMS on January 4 and evacuated 48 million litres through its gantry the same day. Marketers lifted more than 48 million litres last Sunday alone.
The company said its current stock levels can cover over 20 days of national fuel consumption, easing concerns over shortages. It also reaffirmed its ex-gantry price of ₦699 per litre, noting that the rate remains available to all marketers and bulk buyers.
Maintenance without disruption
The refinery acknowledged that routine maintenance was ongoing on specific units, including the Crude Distillation Unit (CDU) and Residual Fluid Catalytic Cracking (RFCC) unit. However, it stressed that production was not affected due to the integrated design of the plant.
Other units such as the Naphtha Hydrotreater, CCR Reformer, and Hydrocracker remain fully operational, producing PMS, diesel, and Jet A-1 fuel.
From December 16, 2025, to date, daily PMS loading ranged between 31 million and 48 million litres, in line with market demand. “These volumes are fully verifiable against depot loading records maintained by the NMDPRA regulatory records,” the statement said.
What is at stake
The refinery warned that without domestic refining, petrol prices could rise to as much as ₦1,400 per litre in a post-subsidy environment.
“The refinery’s operations have therefore served as a critical stabilising force in the Nigerian fuel supply,” it added.
In December, Dangote Refinery pledged to meet Nigeria’s full domestic petrol demand, targeting 1.5 billion litres monthly, rising to 1.7 billion litres from February 2026.
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