The Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals has suspended its discounted fuel supply scheme following revelations of widespread fraud involving several of its affiliate marketers and strategic partners. The company discovered that subsidised petroleum products were being diverted and resold at inflated market rates, undermining the program’s core objective of providing affordable fuel across the country.
The discount scheme, initially introduced to support registered marketers in maintaining competitive retail prices amid stiff market conditions, was found to have been abused. Investigations revealed that some affiliates were handing over their Authority to Collect (ATC) loading tickets to unregistered third parties, allowing those marketers to lift products from the refinery at subsidised rates and resell at a profit; bypassing legitimate retail operations and logistics costs.
This fraudulent activity prompted the refinery to suspend the scheme effective July 13, 2025.
Diversion Scheme Uncovered
The discounted supply program was created to ensure that Dangote’s products reached consumers at reduced rates through registered retail outlets. However, Dangote’s internal review exposed that a growing number of partners were instead selling products straight from the refinery’s tarmac below official gantry prices; effectively monetizing the margin while circumventing proper distribution channels.
This malpractice led to market distortion, enabling marketers to exploit the price gap between discounted and open market rates without actually retailing the products. The abuse persisted despite multiple warnings and engagements by Dangote management.
A formal letter addressed to all strategic partners on July 13, 2025, and signed by Group Executive Director – Commercial Operations, Fatima Dangote, confirmed the suspension. It noted:
“Over the last few months, DPRP has been receiving unprecedented complaints of Strategic Partners selling their ATCs at the refinery below the prevailing PMS gantry product price… This has become an area of grave concern to DPRP as it affects the sustainability of our gantry operations.”
Transition Measures & PRN Concessions
Despite the halt, the refinery has put in place transitional measures to cushion the effect. All Product Release Notes (PRNs) issued before the suspension date at discounted rates will remain valid. Additionally, any partner who completed payment before July 13 will still receive products at the earlier agreed prices.
The management also re-emphasized that all retail stations must continue to adhere to recommended pump prices to maintain uniformity and prevent further price manipulation in the downstream sector.
“Recommended pump prices across retail stations should still be adhered to,” the letter stated.
Scheme Suspension Not Permanent
Dangote clarified that the suspension is temporary and forms part of efforts to restructure the initiative to eliminate abuse. The strategic partnership model, the company said, remains essential and is not being scrapped. It is currently exploring new incentive and reward schemes that will be announced in due course.
Industry Reactions and Insights
Oil and gas analyst Olatide Jeremiah confirmed the development, stating that registered Dangote marketers were bypassing retail responsibilities to sell directly to unregistered marketers.
He explained:
“Instead of selling at retail stations, they sell to depot owners or other marketers at rates that give them quick profits. For instance, if Dangote offers its partners fuel at ₦815 while the market price is ₦825, some affiliates sell at ₦819, pocketing ₦4 per litre while avoiding the costs of running retail outlets.”
Jeremiah also revealed that the abuse extended to credit-based product allocations, where Dangote allowed partners to lift more volumes than they paid for; under a volume-backed repayment scheme to stabilize supply but these were also diverted.
Market Impact
Recent checks by our correspondent using data from petroleumprice.ng indicated that non-affiliated marketers (those dependent on imports) were still selling fuel within the same price range as Dangote’s affiliate marketers, despite not receiving any subsidy. Last week, at least five privately owned depots aligned their ex-depot prices with the Dangote refinery’s revised pricing, averaging ₦820 per litre, down from ₦835 earlier in the week.
This pricing trend suggests the diverted discounted products might have been pushing the overall market price downward.
Strategic Partners Under Scrutiny
While the Dangote refinery did not officially name any defaulting marketers, our checks reveal that the current list of its strategic partners includes:
- MRS Oil
- Heyden Petroleum
- Ardova Plc
- Hyde Energy
- Optima Energy
- Techno Oil
- TotalEnergies
- Garima Petroleum
- Sunbeth Energies
- Sobaz Nigeria Ltd
- Virgin Forest Energy
- Sixxco Oil Ltd
- NU Synergy Ltd
- Soroman Nigeria Ltd
Dangote Group’s Official Position
When contacted for comment, Anthony Chiejina, Group Head of Corporate Communications at Dangote Group, confirmed awareness of the situation but requested additional time to provide a formal response. He emphasized that the group is not in any dispute with marketers and is focused on restructuring the discount framework for long-term sustainability.
