Dangote Refinery Commences First Petrol Rollout 

Dangote Refinery has begun rolling out its first Premium Motor Spirit (Petrol) from its Lagos-based refinery, which processes 650,000 barrels per day.

Aliko Dangote, President of Dangote Group, announced this during a news conference with journalists on Tuesday.

He added that the company’s petrol will reduce import dependence, lower inflation, and stabilise the naira against the dollar.

According to him, the petrol will hit the Nigerian market as soon as discussions are finalised with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.

“The quality will match that of anywhere in the world.

“It is a day of celebration. It is a day to give thanks to God, to give thanks to Mr. President, and also to friends who have been supportive in ensuring that this refinery produces gasoline. We are now here.

“As soon as we finalise with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company, our product will start entering the market.”

Upon commissioning in January 2024, the $20 billion refinery commenced production of Naphtha and Aviation Fuel months ago.

The development comes as Nigerians groan over prolonged fuel queues across the country.

The state oil company has been dealing with $6 billion in obligations to oil merchants since January, which severely limited its capacity to meet local demand, resulting in recurrent fuel shortages since July.

Fuel prices have increased by 45% since the official price of 617 naira ($0.39) declared following the termination of subsidies last year. Despite being Africa’s greatest oil producer, Nigeria imports almost all of its petroleum due to decades of mismanagement at its national refineries.