Dangote Refinery maintains marketer partnership, restructures scheme over abuse
The Dangote Refinery has reaffirmed its commitment to working with petroleum marketers despite suspending its discounted fuel supply programme, following widespread abuse of the scheme by affiliate partners.
The company announced that while the collaboration remains active, it is being restructured to ensure accountability and protect market stability.
The suspension, which took effect on 13 July 2025, followed revelations that some strategic partners were diverting subsidised products meant for their retail stations to unregistered third parties. These resellers exploited Dangote’s discounted rates, making profits without incurring operational costs and contributing to market distortions.
In response, the refinery has begun developing a new incentive structure aimed at rewarding only compliant and loyal marketers. It also warned retail operators to adhere strictly to the recommended pump prices to avoid further disruption in the pricing regime.
READ ALSO: Dangote Suspends Petrol Discount as Partners Undercut Prices
Anthony Chiejina, Group Head of Corporate Communications at Dangote, clarified that the refinery is not in conflict with marketers but is taking necessary corrective steps to ensure the sustainability of its operations. While the company has not named the defaulting partners, its list of registered affiliates includes MRS Oil, TotalEnergies, Heyden Petroleum, Ardova Plc, Hyde Energy, Optima Energy, Techno Oil, and Sobaz Nigeria Ltd.
Market checks revealed that some non-affiliated depot operators had mirrored the refinery’s price cut, with prices falling from N835 to an average of N820 per litre, in line with Dangote’s earlier discounted rate of N815 per litre for partners.
A circular signed by Fatima Dangote, Group Executive Director of Commercial Operations, described the abuse of the Authority To Collect (ATC) system as a serious threat to the refinery’s integrity and pricing structure. Investigations showed that some marketers sold their loading rights below the prevailing gantry price, allowing unregistered buyers to lift products and sell at higher prices, making up to N4 profit per litre without participating in retail distribution.
Analysts, including Olatide Jeremiah, noted that the misuse extended to the credit-based volume allocation scheme, where marketers received additional volumes to enhance national supply but diverted the products for private gain.
Despite the suspension, the refinery has honoured all payments made before 13 July, allowing previously issued Product Release Notes (PRNs) to remain valid. Dangote Refinery is now focused on refining its strategic partnership framework to restore trust, curb leakages, and ensure fair distribution within Nigeria’s downstream sector.
