Dangote Refinery Warns Coastal Evacuation Could Raise Petrol Prices Significantly

Dangote Refinery has cautioned that the use of coastal logistics for evacuating fuel could add substantial costs to petrol prices if passed on to consumers, potentially pushing pump prices toward ₦1,000 per litre.

In a detailed statement released on Thursday titled “Six things to know about Dangote Refinery fuel production and distribution,” the company outlined its operations, highlighting its large-scale gantry system equipped with 91 loading bays. The facility can handle up to 2,900 tankers daily and evacuate over 50 million litres of petrol and 14 million litres of diesel through round-the-clock operations.

The refinery emphasized that gantry loading is the most cost-efficient method, as it avoids additional expenses such as port charges, maritime levies, and vessel-related costs that do not benefit the end user.

While noting that marketers remain free to choose between gantry and coastal loading methods, Dangote pointed out that coastal logistics could impose an extra cost of approximately ₦75 per litre on petrol. If fully transferred to consumers, this could raise pump prices sharply.

The company estimated that relying on coastal evacuation for Nigeria’s average daily consumption of about 50 million litres of petrol and 14 million litres of diesel could result in an additional annual cost of roughly ₦1.752 trillion.

In its statement, Dangote also highlighted the impact of local refining on current fuel prices, noting significant reductions since it began operations. Diesel prices have fallen from about ₦1,700 to between ₦980 and ₦990 per litre, while petrol has dropped from around ₦1,250 to between ₦839 and ₦900 per litre.

The refinery added that domestic production has also eased foreign exchange pressure and contributed to naira stability.