Dangote Refinery says 97% diesel, aviation fuel exported

Vice President of Dangote Industries Limited Devakumar Edwin, has expressed concern over the refusal of local marketers to purchase products from the Dangote Refinery, forcing the company to export most of its production.

During an X (formerly Twitter) space hosted by Nairametrics, Edwin explained that despite the refinery’s efforts to supply affordable petroleum products, local traders continue to prefer importing refined goods from abroad and in fact accused the organisation of selling it products below market prices.

“The whole purpose of building this refinery in Nigeria was to utilise our local crude instead of exporting raw materials and importing finished products,” Edwin stated, adding “We should be able to refine and use the finished products within Nigeria and produce more to export the surplus.” He said 97 per cent of the products are exported while only three per cent of its output is purchased by local marketers, especially diesel and jet fuel.

Edwin suggested that some marketers were deliberately obstructing the refinery’s operations, preferring to import products. He revealed that local marketers even wrote to President Tinubu, complaining about the refinery’s pricing strategies, accusing the firm of disrupting the market by offering lower prices. In response, the refinery has reduced prices twice to boost local sales, but this only resulted in further resistance.

“I’m selling 2 to 3 per cent to small traders who are willing to buy, while the rest 95 to 97 per cent I’m forced to export,” Edwin said, highlighting the challenge in distributing products domestically.

He disclosed that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) requested a permanent presence at the Dangote Refinery with a team of six to 10 people at the refinery to oversee crude supply and production, as well as manage product buyback in Naira as part of an ongoing crude supply deal.

“We are still in talks with the government about receiving crude in Naira. The discussions are ongoing, and nothing has been finalized yet,” Edwin said, adding that unresolved issues include pricing mechanisms and determining an appropriate exchange rate.