Dangote Petroleum Refinery has alleged that the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN) is demanding an annual subsidy of N1.505 trillion to enable its members to match the refinery’s gantry prices at their depots.
In a statement signed by its management, the refinery explained that while it already supplies petroleum products to marketers at its gantry price, DAPPMAN insists on taking delivery through coastal logistics—an option that would add N75 per litre in additional costs.
The statement read, in part, “We wish to clarify that the crux of DAPPMAN’s sustained attacks on Dangote Petroleum Refinery stems from their demand for an annual subsidy of N1.505 trillion to enable their members to match the refinery’s gantry prices at their own depots.
“While we offer petroleum products to marketers at our gantry price, DAPPMAN insists on receiving products via coastal logistics, an option that would add N75 per litre in additional costs. Based on projected daily consumption volumes of 40 million litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) and 15 million litres of Automotive Gas Oil (AGO), this amounts to an additional annual cost of N1.505 trillion (N1,505,625,000,000), which they are effectively asking us to absorb and pass on to consumers,” the statement added.
The statement stated further that the marketers demanded that the refinery discount N70/litre” in coastal freight, NIMASA, NPA and other associated costs as well as N5/litre for the cost of pumping into vessels to enable them to transport products from our refinery to their depots in Apapa and sell at the same price as our gantry.”
“We wish to make it clear that we have no intention of increasing our gantry price to accommodate such demands, nor are we willing to pay a subsidy of over N1.5 trillion, a practice that historically defrauded the Federal Government for many years. DAPPMAN and other marketers are welcome to lift products directly from our gantry and benefit from our logistics-free initiative.
“The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has sufficient capacity to meet domestic demand and support exports. We consistently maintain a closing stock of 500 million litres of refined products in our tanks each month. Between June and September, the refinery exported a combined total of 3,229,881 metric tonnes of PMS, AGO, and aviation fuel, while marketers imported 3,687,828 metric tonnes over the same period, an action that amounts to dumping, which is detrimental to the Nigerian economy and the well-being of its citizens,” the statement said.
On Wednesday, DAPPMAN rejected allegations made by the Dangote Petroleum Refinery that it is sponsoring oil union workers to go on strike, describing them as misleading, factually incorrect and damaging to the integrity of Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the association said it was compelled to correct “distortions” in a press release issued by Dangote on 15 September, warning that such claims risk undermining public trust and regulatory confidence in the market.
Among the issues addressed, DAPPMAN denied sponsoring the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) in its proposed industrial action, stressing that labour unions and industry associations such as NUPENG, NARTO, MEMAN, IPMAN and DAPPMAN operate independently.
“Our role has been one of de-escalation, focused on averting disruption to fuel supply and national mobility,” the statement said.
On fuel pricing, the association argued that recent pump price reductions were driven by government reforms, a stronger naira, and falling crude oil prices, not by Dangote’s operations. DAPPMAN also questioned why the refinery could export freely to countries like the United States but sought restrictive measures in Nigeria.
Aliko Dangote, CEO of Dangote Refinery, dismissed claims that his dominance in cement and petroleum amounts to a monopoly, insisting that the Nigerian economy needs more players with the scale and resources to compete.