Dangote refinery extends free fuel delivery to four more states

The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has expanded its free petroleum products delivery programme to Kano, Imo, Anambra and Nasarawa states as part of efforts to cut distribution costs and potentially drive down petrol prices.

The initiative, which previously covered Lagos, Ogun, Rivers, Kaduna, Abuja and Delta, allows petroleum marketers in the affected states to receive products without bearing the cost of transporting them from the refinery.

The refinery said absorbing the delivery costs would reduce one of the major expenses in the downstream supply chain and give marketers more room to offer products at competitive prices.

Fatima Aliko Dangote, Group Executive Director, Commercial Operations, Oil & Gas, WAEP and Fertiliser, Dangote Industries Limited, said the company wanted the benefits of domestic refining to extend beyond its operations.

She said removing transportation costs could help reduce avoidable expenses across the supply chain and allow some of the savings to reach consumers.

The development was welcomed by the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, which said the arrangement could ease financial and logistical pressures on its members.

IPMAN National Publicity Secretary, Chinedu Ukadike, said marketers often have substantial funds tied up after paying for products while waiting for loading and transportation.

According to him, delivering products closer to their destination markets could improve marketers’ cash flow and reduce the financial burden associated with transporting fuel over long distances.

The cost of moving petroleum products typically includes haulage, vehicle operations, insurance, driver expenses and other logistics, particularly when supplies are transported from the refinery to distant markets.

Dangote said eliminating or reducing these expenses would improve the economics of supplying markets farther from the refinery and could create greater competition among retailers.

The expansion comes as Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector adjusts to increased domestic refining capacity and changing market dynamics.

The Dangote refinery, located in Lagos, has a stated production capacity of 700,000 barrels per day and supplies refined petroleum products to the Nigerian market as well as international destinations.