The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has pushed back against recent claims by oil marketers that it cannot meet Nigeria’s fuel demands, insisting the facility is producing well above the country’s consumption needs and is also exporting products to other markets.

The defence comes after the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria alleged that the refinery had yet to meet even the country’s reduced demand for fuel. In response, senior officials at Dangote Refinery, speaking on condition of anonymity, stated that such claims were unfounded.

“We produce more than enough fuel for Nigeria. We are also exporting to other countries. So when marketers say we can’t meet local needs, it’s not true,” said a senior refinery official.

The official also argued that Nigeria’s fuel consumption figures had long been inflated under the now-defunct subsidy regime. “We will soon know the real daily consumption of fuel in this country. The numbers given in the past were not accurate,” he added.

Another official accused some marketers of resisting President Bola Tinubu’s push for local production over imports. “The only way to grow the economy is to use what we produce here. But some importers will fight this because it affects their profits.”

DAPPMAN’s Executive Secretary, Olufemi Adewole, however, defended the association’s actions, stating that marketers were not part of any so-called cabal but were merely responding to supply gaps. “It is we, the private depot owners, that have been meeting the needs of Nigerians. The Dangote refinery is not yet producing enough to meet local demand,” he said.

Adewole further accused the refinery of attempting to dominate the market. He claimed that unexpected price adjustments by the refinery, even after marketers had purchased products, had led to significant financial losses.

“We didn’t make noise about it, but we’ve been suffering quietly,” he said.

In response, a Dangote official said some marketers were unhappy because the removal of the subsidy regime had ended the profits they once made through round-tripping. “Some of these marketers do not care about the ordinary Nigerian… now that the game has changed, they are not happy,” the official said.

A consultant working with the refinery also questioned how marketers could know the refinery’s inventory. “They should first ask themselves how they know what we have before making such claims,” he said.

Aliko Dangote, the refinery’s founder, also weighed in, claiming powerful interests who benefitted from fuel imports were actively working to sabotage the refinery’s operations.

“There are groups who don’t want this refinery to work. They made huge money from subsidised fuel and are funding resistance. But I have been fighting all my life. I will win this fight too,” he said.

Vice President of Dangote Group, Davakumar Edwin, provided figures to support the refinery’s capacity, stating it produces 57 million litres of petrol, 37 million litres of diesel, and 20 million litres of jet fuel daily—well above Nigeria’s estimated daily petrol consumption of 46 million litres.

“The refinery can produce 104 million litres of fuel every day. We can store large volumes for days. There are 177 tanks with a total capacity of over 4.7 billion litres,” Edwin added.

Figures from February show the refinery was supplying 33 million litres of petrol, 10 million litres of diesel, and 3 million litres of aviation fuel daily.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority reported in April that petrol imports dropped significantly from 44.6 million litres to 14.7 million litres per day—suggesting an increase in local supply. However, another official from the agency, Ogbugo Ukoha, noted that local refineries still produce less than 50% of the country’s fuel needs, with the remainder sourced through imports.

As the debate over fuel supply continues, Dangote maintains that the refinery will help reveal the actual volume of fuel consumed in Nigeria and curb long-standing issues of smuggling and inflated supply figures.

“With this refinery, we can now track every truck and every litre. Nigerians will soon know the truth about how much we really consume,” he said.