LAGOS, Nigeria — A fresh wave of uncertainty has hit Nigeria’s energy market this week. Several private depot owners and independent marketers have significantly increased their ex-depot petrol prices, citing a “planned shutdown” of the Dangote Refinery’s petrol-producing unit for maintenance and upgrades.
The Price Spike: What Marketers are Charging
Checks across major fuel hubs on Monday, January 5, 2026, revealed a sharp jump in the cost of loading petrol. Many private depots have abandoned their previous rates of N740–N780 per liter, with prices now hovering around N800 per liter.
- Lagos & Warri: Depots like Ranoil, Optima, and AYM Shafa have been spotted selling at the N800 mark.
- The Outliers: In contrast, the Dangote Refinery and Aiteo maintained lower rates of N702 and N740 per liter respectively during the same period.
The “Maintenance” Trigger
The price hike is largely tied to reports of “Turnaround Maintenance” at the 650,000 bpd Lekki-based facility. Devakumar Edwin, Vice President of Dangote Industries, confirmed that the refinery is undergoing strategic “de-bottlenecking” to raise overall output.
“In most departments, our production levels have gone beyond 100 percent,” Edwin stated. “We just need to remove constraints to raise overall output.”
Dangote Debunks “Shutdown” Claims
Despite the maintenance on specific units like the Crude Distillation Unit (CDU), the Dangote Refinery has officially dismissed claims of a total shutdown as “false and misleading.”
- Stable Supply: The refinery confirmed it produced 50 million liters of petrol on January 4 alone and has enough stock to cover over 20 days of national consumption.
- Price Stability: The company insists its gantry price remains N699 per liter, accusing some marketers of using “maintenance” as an excuse to exploit Nigerians and recoup losses from previous price slashes.
Retail Reality: Wide Disparities at the Pump
As of this week, the price you pay at the station depends heavily on where you go:
- MRS (Dangote-backed): Maintaining the lowest retail price at N739 per liter.
- NNPC Outlets: Recently reduced prices to N815 per liter in Abuja (down from N835).
- Independent Stations: Prices range wildly between N840 and N910 per liter, depending on the location and source of the product.
While depot owners claim they are factoring in “replacement costs” and supply tightness, the Dangote Refinery warns that without local refining, petrol prices could skyrocket to N1,400 per liter. The coming weeks will be a battle for price stability as the refinery aims to ramp up its capacity to 700,000 bpd.
