Officials of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery say the facility supplied 43.3 million litres of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) to the Nigerian market on Saturday.

The officials made this disclosure, dismissing reports that the refinery had shut its petrol processing unit for maintenance, according to The Punch.

Speaking on condition of anonymity due to a lack of authorisation, they said some marketers were merely seeking justification to raise gantry prices, despite the refinery’s recent reduction of petrol prices from ₦828 to ₦699 per litre.

Over the weekend, reports emerged that some depots increased petrol prices to above ₦800 per litre, citing claims that the Dangote refinery had shut down its petrol processing unit.

However, an official of the $20bn facility questioned the move by depot operators to raise petrol prices.

Responding to enquiries on whether the refinery was undergoing maintenance that could justify a price increase, the source said, “False! Have we stopped loading or turned back a single truck that has come to load? Yesterday (Saturday) alone, we loaded 43.30 million litres of PMS.”

The source added that this volume was “about 50 per cent more than Nigeria’s actual daily petrol consumption.”

Another official stated that the company has sufficient fuel in its storage tanks to meet national demand for the next 20 days, seeking to allay fears of supply disruptions or fuel scarcity.

“We have a stock which is more than 20 days of Nigerian consumption,” the source noted.

The official expressed concern that some traders were deliberately hiking prices to create tension in the sector, and urged Nigerians to patronise filling stations selling Dangote products.

“The public should go only to filling stations where our products are sold. They will get whatever they require there,” he stated.

It was earlier reported that private depots across Lagos and other major fuel trading hubs raised the ex-depot price of PMS to as high as ₦800 per litre, citing claims that the Dangote refinery had shut its petrol processing unit.

Data from petroleumprice.ng on Saturday showed that the average ex-depot price of petrol at private facilities rose within 48 hours, sparking concerns over a potential increase in retail pump prices. While the Dangote refinery maintained a selling price of ₦699 per litre, prices at other depots climbed above ₦800.