Nigeria’s decades-long fuel crisis may finally be easing as the Dangote Petroleum Refinery marked its first year of petrol production with a major milestone: exporting more than 1.1 billion litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) between June and early September 2025.
Speaking at a Lagos conference on Monday, refinery president and chief executive Aliko Dangote said the achievement signalled the end of nearly five decades of fuel shortages and long queues. “We have been battling fuel queues since 1975, but today Nigerians are witnessing a new era,” he declared.
Since starting operations on September 15, 2024, the 650,000-barrel-per-day facility has consistently supplied Nigeria’s local market while also earning foreign exchange through exports. Dangote stressed that the project was risky but worth it: “If it had gone wrong, lenders would have taken our assets. But we believed in Nigeria and Africa.”
The refinery’s presence has already reshaped the domestic market. Petrol, which previously sold for nearly ₦1,100, now retails at about ₦841 across several states, with prices expected to drop further as the company deploys a fleet of 4,000 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) trucks. This move will also create at least 24,000 jobs, with Dangote promising competitive pay, pensions, and full insurance benefits for workers.
Looking ahead, the refinery plans to expand to 700,000 barrels per day in its second year. Dangote also unveiled ambitions to position Nigeria as Africa’s refining hub, the world’s top exporter of polypropylene, and a leader in fertiliser production. “Relying on imports means exporting jobs and importing poverty. Nigeria must industrialise to secure its economic future,” he said.
While the refinery will not directly enter the retail fuel market, Dangote signalled openness to downstream partnerships to strengthen Nigeria’s energy sector.
