The Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals has dropped the cost of its diesel product to ₦1,020 per litre, down from ₦1,075 per litre at the gantry price.

In a statement, the $20bn company said the reduction was part of its effort to better serve its customers and Nigerians in general.

“Since it began diesel production in January 2024, the refinery has reduced the price of diesel more than three times, from an initial N1,700 per litre to the current rate, thus providing much-needed relief to manufacturers and consumers alike,” the company stated.

Recently, the private refinery slashed its ex-depot price for petrol from ₦950 per litre to ₦890 “based on market realities”.

Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, faces energy challenges, with all its state-owned refineries non-operational for decades until 2024. The country was heavily reliant on imported refined petroleum products, with the state-run NNPC being the major importer of the essential commodities.

Fuel queues are commonplace in the country. Prices of petrol more than quadrupled since the removal of subsidy in May 2023 by President Bola Tinubu, from around ₦200/litre to over ₦1000/litre, compounding the woes of the citizens who power their vehicles, and generating sets with petrol, no thanks to decades-long epileptic electricity supply.

Last December, Aliko Dangote, Africa’s leading industrialist, commenced operations at the facility situated in Lagos with 350,000 barrels a day. The refinery, which was initially bogged by regulatory battles, hopes to achieve its full capacity of 650,000 barrels per day by the end of the year. The refinery has begun the supply of diesel and aviation fuel to marketers in the country and now petrol.

Similarly, in 2024, the NNPCL said the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries have come back on stream and loading of petrol has resumed.