The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has introduced a minimum purchase requirement of 500,000 liters of petrol for oil marketers wishing to benefit from its free delivery scheme, sparking debates across Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector.

The refinery confirmed the new condition this week, stating that only marketers who buy half a million liters or more qualify for no-cost transportation of products. At the refinery’s gantry price of N820 per liter, this translates to a minimum outlay of about N410 million, equivalent to at least 11 trucks of 45,000 liters each.

The requirement however has raised concerns among independent petroleum marketers, who argue that the benchmark is too high for most operators to meet. 

The National Publicity Secretary of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Chinedu Ukadike, confirmed that members were struggling with the threshold and that requirement has not been easy to follow.

Adding  that the association was compiling a list of members who could pool resources to meet the refinery’s benchmark.

According to him, without such collaboration, the free delivery scheme could be hijacked by middlemen, leading to profiteering and bureaucracy in the fuel supply chain.

The Chief Executive Officer of Petroleum price.ng Olatide Jeremiah,  criticized the requirement, describing it as unrealistic for the majority of retail station owners.

He argued that the policy could inadvertently strengthen middlemen, undermining the refinery’s goal of reducing costs and providing direct delivery to retailers.

Stakeholders now fear that instead of reducing costs, the new threshold could distort the market, leaving small operators sidelined while wholesalers reassert control.

Jeremiah reinforced this concern, noting that middlemen could easily resell products with additional margins, undermining the refinery’s effort to lower pump prices.