Nigeria’s largest oil refinery has raised fresh concerns that petrol prices could edge close to ₦1,000 per litre if marketers increase reliance on coastal logistics for product evacuation.
In a statement on Thursday, Dangote Petroleum Refinery said while marketers are free to choose how they evacuate refined products, continued dependence on coastal shipping could add about ₦75 per litre in additional costs. If passed on to consumers, that could push petrol at the pump near the psychological ₦1,000 mark.
According to the refinery, coastal delivery methods carry port charges, maritime levies and vessel-related fees that do not directly benefit end users, making them less cost-efficient than land-based gantry loading.
Dangote’s gantry facility at Lekki — with 91 loading bays capable of handling up to 2,900 tankers daily — is designed to keep logistics costs low and avoid the extra charges associated with coastal transport.
The refinery also highlighted Nigeria’s high daily fuel demand — an average of around 50 million litres of petrol and 14 million litres of diesel — noting that widespread use of coastal logistics could result in an additional annual cost of roughly ₦1.75 trillion.
Industry analysts said that with current retail prices already ranging between roughly ₦839 and ₦900 per litre in many parts of the country, additional costs from coastal logistics could place further upward pressure on fuel prices, intensifying the cost of living for consumers.
Dangote Refinery’s warning draws attention to broader challenges in Nigeria’s downstream sector tied not just to production, but also to distribution strategy and infrastructure choices. It underscores the potential impact of logistics on petrol pricing in a deregulated fuel market.
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