Crisis at Dangote Refinery: Petrol Production Reportedly Fails, Fuel Shortage Looms Across Africa
- Trouble appears to be brewing at Dangote Refinery few weeks after the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association (PENGASSAN) of Nigeria called off its strike
- Africa’s largest refinery is battling to stabilise its petrol production, which has reduced since early October 2025
- Feelers indicate that the refinery’s petrol-producing unit has broken down and repairs could last well into next year
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Pascal Oparada, a reporter for Legit.ng, has over ten years of experience covering technology, energy, stocks, investment, and the economy.
Africa’s biggest refinery, the $20 billion Dangote Petroleum Refinery, is facing a serious operational setback that threatens to worsen petrol shortages in Nigeria and several African markets.
According to a Bloomberg report, the refinery has sharply reduced its crude oil purchases in recent weeks, signaling deeper production problems that could ripple across the continent’s gasoline supply chain.
Source: UGC
Crude purchases slashed by half
Data from vessel-tracking and allocation records show that the refinery plans to buy fewer than 300,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude in October, barely half of the more than 600,000 bpd it purchased in July.
The cutback reflects mounting challenges at the facility, which has served as a critical source of refined petrol for both domestic and regional markets since it began operations in 2024.
Industry sources said the reduction suggests a partial shutdown of the refinery’s gasoline production unit, which has struggled to maintain steady output due to technical glitches, unplanned outages, and labor unrest.
Dangote Refinery: Strikes, sabotage, production losses
The problems at Dangote Refinery have been compounded by internal labor tensions.
A three-day strike at the end of September, triggered by layoffs and restructuring disputes, resulted in an estimated loss of 600,000 barrels of production, according to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC).
Officials have also cited possible sabotage and equipment failures as reasons for the recurring disruptions.
Insiders say the refinery’s management has been forced to initiate internal reviews to stabilize operations and address staff grievances.
Dangote's imports from U.S. fall sharply
Earlier this year, Dangote Refinery made headlines when it began importing large volumes of U.S. WTI crude, even surpassing local Nigerian crude in July’s feedstock mix.
But recent data indicate that imports of U.S. crude have dropped sharply, alongside reduced intake of Nigerian crude.
Bloomberg estimates that Dangote will take delivery of about 287,000 bpd in October, comprising 153,000 bpd of Nigerian crude and the rest from the U.S.
This downturn marks a dramatic shift for the 650,000-bpd facility, which had just begun exporting refined fuel beyond West Africa in mid-2025.
Global impact: Europe feels the squeeze
The refinery’s setback is already reshaping gasoline markets globally. Analysts say reduced exports from Dangote have tightened supplies and driven up gasoline prices in Europe and Africa.
“European gasoline has been extremely strong as a result of Dangote’s issues,” said Neil Crosby, an analyst at Sparta Commodities.
With output expected to remain subdued into next year, the refinery’s woes could compound Nigeria’s existing fuel scarcity and inflate import costs for neighboring countries.
Source: Getty Images
For Africa’s energy giant, this latest crisis underscores the fragile balance between ambition and operational reality, and raises fresh questions about how soon the continent’s largest refinery can stabilize production to meet its soaring expectations.
NNPC breaks silence on new petrol price
Legit.ng earlier reported that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) clarified the reason behind the recent hike in petrol pump prices across its retail outlets nationwide, citing an increase in the ex-depot rate, the wholesale cost of fuel sold to marketers before retail markups.
In a statement released on Wednesday, Chief Corporate Communications Officer of NNPC Ltd, Andy Odeh, said the new pump prices reflect adjustments in the ex-depot price structure.
The ex-depot price represents the cost at which petrol leaves the refinery or storage depot before being distributed to marketers and retailers.
Source: Legit.ng
