Petroleum marketers in Nigeria have raised concerns over the impact of Dangote Refinery’s reduced diesel prices on their businesses.

In a letter to President Bola Tinubu, the marketers argued that the refinery’s local diesel price drop to ₦900 per litre is negatively affecting their operations.

Devakumar Edwin, Vice President of Dangote Industries Limited, addressed these issues during a Twitter Spaces session organized by Nairametrics on Wednesday.

Edwin detailed the challenges faced by the Dangote Refinery, highlighting the adverse effects on Nigeria’s fuel supply and pricing dynamics.

Edwin noted that the refinery, situated in the Lekki Free Zone near Lagos, is struggling to sell approximately 29 tankers of diesel daily due to insufficient local demand from petroleum product importers.

This lack of local patronage has forced the refinery to export a significant portion of its diesel and aviation fuel.

Despite these difficulties, Edwin emphasized that the Dangote Refinery’s capacity to produce petrol—44% of its total production—is adequate to meet the country’s local demand.

With a daily production capacity of 650,000 barrels, the refinery began exporting naphtha in March, low-sulphur straight run fuel oil (LSSR) in May, and domestically selling diesel and jet fuel in April.

Additionally, it started exporting diesel fuel that meets European specifications in June.