Dangote Suspends Petrol Sale In Dollar As Nigeria’s Enhances Imports

In a proactive gesture to minimize petroleum price shock in the domestic market, 

Dangote Petroleum Refinery has resumed the sale of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) or petrol in naira, providing a measure of relief to marketers and consumers. 

The Gantry price is fixed at N1,215/ litre.

Following a week of economic uncertainty owing to Dangote’s decision to load fuel in dollars, the refinery has fixed its new ex-depot (gantry) price to Naira, albeit at a higher cost.

The new price was revised to N1,215 per litre, representing an increase of N140 per litre, or 13.02 per cent, from the previous price of N1,075 per litre.

“Dangote Petroleum Refinery has resumed the sale of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) in naira, providing a measure of relief to marketers and consumers,” a statement released on Wednesday read

“The gantry price is fixed at N1,215/ litre,” it added.

After notifying clients of the new conditions on Tuesday, the refinery resumed the acceptance of orders for coastal loading.

Following an extended period of uncertainty within the downstream petroleum market due to the suspension of fuel sale in naira, which compelled several independent marketers to procure supplies from private depots, the refinery has reinstated naira-denominated pricing for truck loading.

Under the dollar pricing system Automotive Gas Oil (diesel) was set to cost $1.087 per litre, while Aviation Turbine Kerosene (ATK) was priced at $0.942 per litre. Petrol delivered via coastal deliveries was tagged at $1,044.62 per metric tonne.

At the time, the refinery notified marketers and customers that all previously issued naira-denominated Proforma Invoices and Deal Recaps for gantry and coastal transactions were no longer legitimate.

The notice, signed by the refinery’s Group Commercial Operations, read, “Following our email on the 9th of July, 2026, regarding the transition from Naira to United States Dollars, please note that all issued Naira Coastal and Gantry PFIs/Deal Recaps are now invalid, and no payments should be made against them.”

Meanwhile, Nigeria’s petrol imports more than tripled last month as the country’s main refinery cut domestic supply and increasingly directed output toward export markets to maximize foreign-currency earnings.

Nigeria shipped in 18.1 million liters of the fuel per day in June, compared with 5.6 million liters in May, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NUPRC) said in a monthly report.

The Dangote Petroleum Refinery increasingly directs output to export markets to maximize foreign currency earnings. Selling products in naira domestically limits the U.S. dollars required to purchase international crude oil feedstock, driving the refinery to prioritize lucrative European and African exports. 

According to figures in June, the refinery exported 466,000 metric tonnes of aviation fuel, overtaking the United States as Europe’s largest external supplier of jet fuel. 

The facility has expanded its footprint across the continent, successfully exporting cargoes to countries like Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Tanzania, Ghana, and Togo. 

The plant’s domestic allocation under the local naira-for-crude agreement has significantly declined. 

As a result, the refinery must source a greater share of its feedstock from the international market, which must be paid for in dollars. 

Because the refinery struggles to convert naira revenue into the necessary foreign exchange to buy raw crude, it relies heavily on export markets to sustain its operations. Consequently, Nigeria’s domestic petrol imports have recently surged as the refinery reduces local supply according to Bloomberg.