A fresh crisis is sweeping across Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector following the decision by the Dangote Petroleum Refinery to immediately suspend the sale of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) to major oil marketers actively importing petroleum products into the country.
​The drastic shift, confirmed on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, from the refinery’s complex in the Lekki Free Trade Zone, Lagos, has widened the rift between domestic refiners and oil traders in Nigeria’s deregulated energy market.
​According to refinery management, the stoppage was triggered by allegations that certain major marketers were blending high-grade petrol purchased from the $20 billion Lekki facility with lower-quality imported fuels in offsite storage tanks. Officials maintained that the practice compromises the quality of fuel distributed to Nigerian motorists and damages the refinery’s brand integrity.
​”The refinery’s position is clear: we will no longer supply products to marketers found to be blending our refined petrol with imported fuel,” a senior official at the Dangote Petroleum Refinery stated during a briefing in Lagos on Tuesday afternoon. “We must protect the quality standards of our refined products and ensure consumers get what they pay for.”
​The decision has drawn immediate pushback from major downstream associations and independent operators. Speaking on behalf of retail distributors on Wednesday morning, October 7, 2026, the National President of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), Mr. Billy Gillis-Harry, dismissed the allegations as unfounded and warned of impending market distortions.
​”There is no justification for accusing marketers of blending fuel sourced from the Dangote Refinery with imported products,” Gillis-Harry said in a statement released in Abuja. “The industry needs multiple supply sources to guarantee energy security and promote fair competition. We hope this decision does not disrupt the distribution chain and trigger new fuel queues across the country.”
​Other prominent marketers argued that the domestic refinery is attempting to restrict open imports and create a market monopoly under the guise of quality control.
​The face-off threatens to destabilise fuel supply networks across major commercial hubs, including Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt, at a time when domestic pump prices remain under continuous economic pressure.
While Dangote Refinery has shifted its distribution priority toward independent marketers who rely strictly on local supply, industry analysts caution that excluding major trading firms could create logistical bottlenecks in regional depot networks.
​As of Wednesday morning, energy stakeholders are calling on the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to intervene, enforce standard quality testing across all import terminals, and resolve the impasse before distribution channels experience severe supply disruptions.
