Price cut: Dangote refinery’s cheaper petrol draws 1,000 trucks daily

By: Abudu Olalekan

Over a thousand trucks now swarm the Dangote Refinery daily after major price and policy shifts. A report on the changing fuel game in Nigeria.

By late afternoon, the road leading to the Dangote refinery looks like a slow‑moving metal river. Tankers everywhere. Headlights. Dust. Horns that never really stop. More than 1,000 trucks, every single day, now heading in just to load petrol.

It didn’t start out like this. It changed when the price dropped. Quietly at first. Then the news spread.

On Friday night, the refinery put it in writing. A formal statement. Careful words, but you could still feel the shift underneath. The company said the refinery had “emerged as a hub of fuel distribution in Nigeria” after what it called bold, strategic changes. Big English. But the idea is simple: make fuel cheaper, and easier to buy.

So what exactly changed? Two things. And they matter.

First, the pump price for Premium Motor Spirit – regular petrol for most people – was cut to N699 per litre at the gantry. That’s the price marketers pay when they come to load. It’s not charity, but in this economy, any reduction tastes like relief.

Second, the minimum volume a marketer must buy was slashed. Before, you needed to take at least two million litres. That’s rich‑boys territory. Only the biggest players could step in. Now, the bar is down to 250,000 litres. Still a lot, but suddenly the door swings open for many more marketers. Smaller independents. Regional players. People who usually stand on the sidelines, watching.

The statement explained it in formal language: these steps show the refinery’s “commitment to stabilising supply, fostering inclusivity and supporting national economic growth.” Strip away the corporate tone and what you get is this: more people can buy. More fuel moves. The market broadens.

There was another clever move. For marketers who are scared of supply shocks or cash flow issues, the refinery introduced a 10‑day bank guarantee system. In plain terms, that means marketers don’t always need to show up with piles of cash. A credible bank stands in, promising payment, so loading doesn’t stop. Supply keeps flowing.

And the response? The refinery says it has been “overwhelming”. Not a mild word. Over 1,000 trucks now load PMS daily from its gantry. That number is not just a statistic; it’s a sign of trust. Marketers don’t send trucks where they don’t believe they’ll get product, or where the price makes them bleed.

Aliko Dangote himself tried to put a human face to it. In the statement, the Dangote Group President was quoted saying, “Our goal has always been to make energy affordable and accessible for every Nigerian.” Very big ambition, very simple sentence. He linked the price cut and lower minimum volume to one clear effect: both big and small marketers can now play. If they can buy, they can sell. And if they can sell, fuel can reach “every corner of the country,” as he put it. At least, that’s the plan.

The company insists this is not just about profit. Its statement stressed how the new approach opens up the fuel market to smaller operators, strengthens distribution networks, and improves availability nationwide. Lower barriers, it argued, mean more competition. More competition should mean better prices and fewer dry filling stations. In theory, anyway.

Speaking with journalists last week, Dangote doubled down on the idea that this refinery is about legacy, not just money. He said, almost casually, that he could have invested the $20bn somewhere else if all he wanted was returns. That’s a huge number to toss around, but it also hints at how personally he frames the project. For him, domestic refining is a national turning point. Or at least, it’s meant to be.

He also admitted something many Nigerians are quietly watching: will the lower gantry prices actually show up on the pump metres at filling stations? He said the company is working “tirelessly” to make sure those reductions reflect at retail outlets. That’s where the real test lies. Not at the refinery gate. At the small station in a dusty town where a keke driver counts every naira.

Others are starting to line up behind the shift. The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, has already told its members to start patronising the Dangote refinery for PMS. The association said the refinery is currently offering the most affordable prices in the market. There’s also a sweetener: free delivery for marketers, expected to kick off in January 2026.

So, the picture looks like this. A massive refinery cutting prices. Smaller marketers getting a way in. Over 1,000 trucks, daily, rolling out with fuel.

Will it fix everything? No. Not yet. But on that long road out of the refinery, as tanker after tanker crawls toward the highway, it does feel like something has shifted.

More details: reportersroom.ng/dangote-fuel