The Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals has exposed a new fraud involving some of its affiliated marketers and strategic partners who have been diverting subsidised fuel products for profit. This discovery has led to the suspension of the refinery’s discounted fuel supply programme.
An internal investigation revealed that some marketers granted access to discounted fuel, intended to maintain affordability and availability across retail stations, had been diverting their loaded trucks to unauthorised third-party marketers.
The initiative was originally introduced to help Dangote’s approved affiliates maintain steady profit margins amidst price competition from fuel importers, while also ensuring nationwide access to the refinery’s products.
However, the marketers involved reportedly circumvented the supply chain by allowing non-registered importers to collect products from the refinery using their Authority To Collect (ATC) tickets. This enabled them to profit from the price difference without bearing legitimate costs such as logistics, retail operations, or compliance, allowing for quick and undue gains.
The refinery observed that the diverted fuel was being sold at market rates significantly higher than the agreed discounted prices, thereby undermining the scheme’s core objectives and disrupting the downstream fuel market. Consequently, the company ordered the suspension of the discounted pricing arrangement effective from 13 July 2025.
The directive was contained in a letter addressed to all strategic partners on 13 July 2025. The letter, signed by Fatima Dangote, Group Executive Director for Commercial Operations, was obtained by our correspondent on Thursday.
According to the refinery’s management, some marketers were selling fuel directly from the depot at prices below the official gantry rate, a practice that threatens the long-term sustainability of operations.
The company, which had introduced the discounted pricing scheme to guarantee access to affordable, cleaner fuel across the country, lamented that the abuse of the system had become widespread despite several prior discussions with the offending marketers.
In the letter titled “Suspension of the Strategic Partner Discounted Price,” the company stated that the programme was launched to enable the distribution and retail of Dangote Petroleum Refinery Products (DPRP) nationwide. The intention was to ensure consumers had access to affordable and clean fuel through affiliated stations.
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It went on to state that in recent months, the DPRP had received numerous reports of strategic partners selling their ATCs at the depot at below-market rates. Despite several engagements with those partners, the problem had worsened, threatening the viability of depot operations.
As a result, DPRP management has decided to suspend the discounted pricing for strategic partners from July 13, 2025, while working on a comprehensive restructuring of the scheme.
Nevertheless, the refinery granted certain concessions to facilitate continued loading. All outstanding Product Release Notes (PRNs) issued at the discounted rate will remain valid. Also, partners who completed payment before the suspension date will still be allowed to load at the old discounted price.
In addition, the company emphasised that all affiliated retail stations must continue to follow the recommended pump prices to ensure pricing consistency and prevent further market distortion.
The letter added: “All existing PRNs at partner prices will remain valid for loading. Any partner awaiting PRNs for payments made at the discounted rate prior to the suspension date will receive them. Recommended pump prices across all retail outlets should be strictly adhered to.”
Despite the current suspension, DPRP insisted that the strategic partnership remains important and would not be cancelled. The company added that it is actively exploring alternative incentive and reward structures for its partners, with more details to be shared soon.
Market observations from petroleumprice.ng indicated that non-affiliated marketers, who rely exclusively on imports, have continued to sell fuel at similar prices to Dangote’s registered affiliates, even though they do not benefit from the refinery’s discount.
Last week, at least five independent depots were found to have aligned their ex-depot prices with Dangote’s new pricing, offering fuel at around N820 per litre, a drop from the N835 per litre recorded earlier in the week.
While Dangote Refinery did not disclose the names of the defaulting marketers, a review of its current list of strategic partners shows companies such as MRS Oil, Heyden Petroleum, Ardova Plc, Hyde Energy, Optima Energy, and Techno Oil. Others include TotalEnergies, Garima Petroleum, Sunbeth Energies, Sobaz Nigeria Ltd, Virgin Forest Energy, Sixxco Oil Ltd, NU Synergy Ltd, and Soroman Nigeria Ltd.
When approached for comments, Anthony Chiejina, Dangote Group’s Head of Corporate Communications, asked for more time to provide an official statement, stressing that the refinery is not in conflict with its marketing partners.
