A senior management official at the Dangote Group on Monday said the Dangote Petroleum Refinery has been effectively subsidising the petrol and diesel it supplies to the Nigerian market.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to comment publicly, stated that the refinery’s N1,200 per litre ex-depot price for petrol is currently below prevailing market levels, according to The Punch.

He attributed this to rising crude oil costs following tensions linked to the US–Iran conflict, which have pushed up global oil prices.

It was earlier reported that tensions in the Middle East triggered a sharp surge in global oil prices after the Strait of Hormuz was reportedly blocked by Iran.

Brent crude, the international benchmark, climbed from about $66 per barrel on February 28 to over $100 per barrel.

The report added that the spike in crude prices forced adjustments across the downstream sector.

Dangote Refinery reportedly increased its petrol gantry price from N774 to N1,200 per litre at the time of filing the report.

The Dangote Refinery official said the $20bn facility has already optimised its pricing for petrol and diesel, noting that it would not have been feasible to extend similar support to aviation fuel.

The official explained that while the refinery has absorbed some cost pressures in its petrol and diesel pricing structure, the economics of jet fuel make additional subsidisation unsustainable.

He added that jet fuel is currently being sold at market-determined rates by the refinery.

The official attributed the recent increases in fuel prices to the sharp rise in crude oil costs, stressing that global market pressures were the main driver

“With the crude price moving up steeply, we try to optimise the price of PMS (petrol) as much as possible to help the public. To some extent, we try to optimise the price of AGO (diesel) too. We can’t be subsidising everything, and so, we sell the jet fuel at the market price,” the source stated.

He also confirmed, when asked, that the term “optimise” effectively meant the refinery had absorbed some costs in a way that functions similarly to a subsidy mechanism within its pricing structure.

Another official of the Dangote Group disclosed that the company sells its aviation fuel to marketers below N2,000 per litre.

“I can confirm to you that our jet fuel price as of this (Monday) morning is N1,799. It was even lower before this time. That’s how much we sell to the marketers who later sell to the airlines. We are selling at less than N2,000 a litre,” the source disclosed.

Earlier, in a letter dated April 14, 2026, addressed to the Executive Secretary of the Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria, Clement Isong, the President of the Airline Operators of Nigeria, Abdulmunaf Sarina, said the sharp rise in Jet A1 prices had become unbearable for operators.

The AON had in its letter said “the price of Jet A1 as sold by marketers has risen significantly from the initial N900/litre as at February 28, 2026, to N3,300/litre as of today.

“This represents an increase of over 300 per cent. This astronomical and artificial increase is not commensurate with the rise in crude oil prices and is well above international market benchmarks, which reflect approximately a 30 per cent increase in crude oil cost. For the past weeks, airlines have endured this burden and continued operations out of patriotism and in the spirit of service to the nation. However, the situation has now become unbearable and clearly unsustainable.”

He called on MEMAN to intervene and ensure its members adjust jet fuel prices in accordance with international market conditions, noting that airlines can no longer cope with the current steep and unsustainable costs.