There are signs that Nigeria’s extreme reliance on gasoline imports may lessen as the $20 billion Dangote Refinery has completed its plans to start supplying the country’s internal market with gasoline from May 2024.
Prior to the 650,000 barrels per day refinery starting up, the country was nearly entirely dependent on imported gasoline to meet demand.
According to information provided by Dangote Refinery, the facility can generate 99 million liters (26.2 million gallons) of gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, and kerosene per day when operating at full capacity.
As greater supplies are pumped into the market by the refinery, the price of automotive gas oil, or diesel, has decreased by 20.6% from N1,700 per litre in March 2024 to N1,350 per litre in April 2024.
The product was largely imported from the worldwide market, but Nigeria’s inflation and foreign exchange problems drove up the price to approximately N1,700 per litre in much of the country, including Lagos and Abuja.
According to Vanguard’s checks from yesterday, the price began to decline as soon as people realized that Dangote Petroleum Refinery had set its pricing at N1,225 per liter.
“This is a good development that we are waiting for; we are hoping it will help bring down the cost of diesel and reduce the pressure on the nation’s foreign exchange because the importation of consuming products is consuming about 30 percent of our foreign exchange,” Dr. Muda Yusuf, Chief Executive Officer of the Center for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, CPPE, said in response to the development.
“Our ability to utilize the Dangote refinery to cut back on product consumption will significantly alleviate the nation’s foreign exchange issue. Nevertheless, the macroeconomic effects it will have on every industry.
