Dangote Refinery stops petrol sales to importing marketers over blending dispute

The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has stopped selling Premium Motor Spirit, commonly known as petrol, to major petroleum marketers that continue to import fuel into Nigeria.

Refinery officials said the decision followed concerns that some marketers were allegedly blending petrol produced by Dangote with imported products before selling the resulting fuel to consumers.

A refinery source told PUNCH that the company would no longer supply petrol to marketers involved in importing fuel, alleging that some were combining Dangote’s products with imported grades it considers lower in quality.

Another refinery source said the company was now prioritising sales to members of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria and other buyers that are not known to be importing petrol.

Dangote raises concern over petrol blending

The refinery had previously warned that it could stop selling petrol to importers because of concerns about how its products were handled after leaving the facility.

Dangote argued that blending its petrol with imported fuel could make it difficult for consumers to distinguish products supplied directly by the refinery from fuel that had subsequently been mixed or handled by third parties.

The refinery has described its petrol as a high-quality Euro-5 product and said it is concerned that blended products could still be associated with the Dangote brand after being altered.

The claims about the quality of imported petrol are disputed by petroleum marketers.

Marketers reject Dangote’s allegations

Some fuel importers and marketers have criticised the refinery’s decision, describing it as an attempt to restrict competition from imported petrol.

They challenged Dangote to provide evidence that imported fuel approved for sale in Nigeria fails to meet applicable quality requirements.

One marketer argued that a supplier should not determine whether a customer can subsequently combine its product with fuel obtained from another source.

The marketers maintain that fuel imports remain important for maintaining adequate supply and competition, particularly when domestic production is insufficient to meet market demand.

IPMAN National Vice Chairman Hamed Fashola also said the refinery appeared to be selective about the marketers it supplies, noting that not every major marketer imports petrol.

He said independent marketers generally buy fuel wherever they can obtain competitive prices, whether from the Dangote Refinery or importers.

Petrol imports already subject of court battle

The development comes amid an ongoing legal dispute over Nigeria’s petrol importation regime.

A Federal High Court in Abuja recently directed the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority to continue granting and renewing petroleum-product import licences.

Petroleum marketers welcomed the ruling, arguing that competition between domestic refineries and imported fuel could improve supply and pricing.

Dangote Refinery is separately challenging the continued issuance of import licences in another case before the Federal High Court in Lagos.

The refinery has asked the court to nullify import licences issued or renewed for the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and several marketers.

The regulator had approved about 830,000 metric tonnes of petrol imports for the fourth quarter of 2026, according to PUNCH.

The latest decision to stop supplying importing marketers therefore adds another dimension to the continuing debate over the role of imported petrol as Nigeria expands domestic refining capacity.