The Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals has identified a fraudulent operation involving its affiliate marketers and strategic partners, leading to the suspension of its discounted fuel supply scheme.
Refinery investigations revealed that certain marketers, who were granted discounted products to ensure nationwide fuel affordability and access, diverted these supplies to unauthorized third-party vendors.
Instead of distributing the fuel through their licensed retail outlets as intended, the marketers redirected trucks to non-registered dealers, violating the terms of their agreement.
They exploited the Authority To Collect (ATC) loading documents by handing them over to unregistered importers, who then bypassed logistics, retail operations, and compliance costs to profit from the price margin.
This diversion undermined the objective of the discount scheme, as the subsidized fuel ended up in the open market at inflated prices, disrupting the downstream sector. As a result, the refinery suspended the discount program effective July 13, 2025.
Dangote communicated the decision in a letter signed by Fatima Dangote, Group Executive Director of Commercial Operations, and addressed to all strategic partners on the same date.
The refinery stated that some marketers had even sold products directly from the refinery premises at rates lower than the official gantry price, which it described as a threat to long-term sustainability.
Initially, the discount program was introduced to improve affordability and ensure fuel availability across Nigeria. However, persistent misuse of the scheme continued despite repeated warnings and engagements with the marketers involved.
In the letter titled “Suspension of the Strategic Partner Discounted Price,” the refinery emphasized that it designed the program to guarantee national access to clean and affordable petroleum products through retail outlets.
It also raised concerns about continued reports of partners selling their ATC documents below the gantry price, warning that the abuse placed its operations at serious risk.
Consequently, management halted the discounted pricing arrangement and announced plans to restructure the entire scheme.
Although the scheme was suspended, the refinery granted limited concessions. It allowed the continued use of Product Release Notes (PRNs) already issued at the discounted rate and honored pre-suspension payments.
In addition, the refinery instructed all retail outlets to stick to the approved pump prices to ensure pricing consistency and curb further market distortion.
It clarified that partners with valid PRNs or confirmed payments before the suspension date would still receive products at the discounted rate.
Despite the halt, Dangote maintained that the strategic partnership model remained in place. The company is now working on alternative incentive or reward systems, which will be shared in due time.
Oil and gas analyst Olatide Jeremiah confirmed the refinery’s findings, stating that some affiliated marketers with loading rights had diverted products to unauthorized dealers for quick profit.
He explained that rather than distribute products through their retail stations, these marketers resold them directly to depots and independent marketers at slightly inflated prices—still below official gantry rates.
Jeremiah cited an example: if Dangote supplied products to partners at N815 per liter, instead of the official N825, these marketers would resell at N819, skipping operational overheads and making N4 profit per liter. The receiving marketers still had room to sell at the pump for N825 and gain margin.
He further noted that the abuse also extended to products issued on credit under a volume-based repayment arrangement designed to support national distribution. Marketers received extra volumes and were expected to repay Dangote after selling at a fixed price.
However, they sold the products immediately to unregistered dealers, violating the credit agreement and leading to the temporary suspension of the scheme. The refinery has indicated its commitment to redesigning the model before reintroducing it.
Market data from petroleumprice.ng showed that non-affiliated marketers, who depend solely on imported fuel, have been selling at similar prices as Dangote’s affiliates—even without the benefit of subsidies.
Last week, at least five private depots matched their ex-depot prices to Dangote’s revised rates, bringing prices down from N835 to N820 per liter.
Although the refinery did not publicly name those involved, its current list of strategic partners includes MRS Oil, Heyden Petroleum, Ardova Plc, Hyde Energy, Optima Energy, Techno Oil, TotalEnergies, Garima Petroleum, Sunbeth Energies, Sobaz Nigeria Ltd, Virgin Forest Energy, Sixxco Oil Ltd, NU Synergy Ltd, and Soroman Nigeria Ltd.
In response to media inquiries, Dangote Group’s Head of Corporate Communications, Anthony Chiejina, requested more time to issue an official statement, stressing that there is no conflict between the refinery and its marketers.
source: punchng.com
African Energy Council