Dangote Petroleum Refinery has expressed concern about the continued issuance of petrol import licenses, arguing that domestic refining capacity is sufficient to meet Nigeria’s demand.
The company said significant volumes of imported Premium Motor Spirit were making demand forecasting and inventory management more difficult.
Dangote cited market data indicating that imported petrol accounted for about 43 per cent of supply into the Nigerian market in July.
The refinery argued that the scale of imports raised questions about why large foreign volumes remained necessary while local capacity was available.
The company said it had maintained substantial inventories and reserved product volumes to guard against domestic shortages.
Those stocks required major spending on storage, logistics and working capital.
Dangote said limited visibility over future import volumes made it commercially difficult to continue holding excess inventory indefinitely.
The refinery explained that when domestic demand did not absorb available production, surplus volumes had to be exported to regional and international markets.
It said increasing exports should therefore not be interpreted as evidence that the company was unwilling to serve Nigeria.
Rather, the company described exports as a response to excess inventory and competition from imported products.
Dangote said it remained capable of meeting and surpassing national petroleum product requirements.
The refinery also warned that future shortages resulting from what it described as market distortions should not automatically be attributed to its operations.
Those arguments represent the company’s position in an ongoing policy debate about imports, domestic competition and energy security.
The refinery called for greater transparency regarding import volumes and stronger coordination between regulators, importers and local producers.
It argued that policies supporting domestic refining could reduce foreign exchange demand and increase the economic benefits of Nigeria’s refining investments.
