THE Dangote Petroleum Refinery will begin delivering 50 million litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) per day to the Nigerian market from today, December 1, as part of a broader plan to supply 1.5 billion litres throughout the festive season and into early 2026.

The announcement, made over the weekend by Africa’s richest man and President of Dangote Industries Limited, Mr Aliko Dangote, is positioned as a major intervention to avert the fuel scarcity that often marks the holiday period.

Speaking during a facility tour by the South-South Development Commission (SSDC), Mr Dangote said the refinery had both the stock and capacity to guarantee uninterrupted nationwide supply.

“In line with our commitment to national wellbeing, and consistent with our track record of ensuring a fuel-scarcity-free holiday season, the Dangote Petroleum Refinery will supply 1.5 billion litres of PMS to the Nigerian market this month. This represents 50 million litres per day,” he said, noting that the refinery had formally notified the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) of the plN.

The company plans to sustain the momentum into the new year, with another 1.5 billion litres scheduled for January 2026 and an increase to 1.7 billion litres in February, equivalent to around 60 million litres per day.

According to Mr Dangote, the current PMS output of 40 million–45 million litres daily would ramp up to meet national demand, which had long hovered between 50 million and 60 million litres per day. He said this level of production should end lingering doubts about the capacity of domestic refineries to meet the country’s needs.

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He further said that the company was working with petroleum marketers to reinforce distribution networks nationwide. Part of the refinery’s strategy included supporting a transition to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)–powered haulage fleets to reduce logistics costs and deepen ongoing energy reforms.

The refinery is also pushing ahead with an expansion plan to raise its processing capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day. Dangote said the scale-up would engage more than 100,000 workers across the refinery and the adjacent fertiliser plant, reflecting the Group’s long-term ambition to anchor Nigeria’s industrial and energy transformation.

“We remain committed to our vision, and we are encouraged by the strong public support for our role in shaping Nigeria’s economic development,” Dangote said.

During the SSDC visit, managing director, Mr Usoro Akpabio, commended Dangote’s leadership and described the refinery as a symbol of emerging industrial renewal. She noted that the South-South region—home to most of Nigeria’s crude reserves, gas assets and petro-industrial clusters—is naturally positioned as the country’s energy corridor.

Akpabio said deeper collaboration between the region and the Dangote Group could unlock opportunities in product distribution, CNG infrastructure, petrochemicals, agriculture and employment.

In a separate letter to the NMDPRA, managing director of the refinery, Mr David Bird, reaffirmed the company’s readiness to make its production and stock levels fully transparent. From December 1,he said, the refinery would host NMDPRA officials onsite to verify and publish daily supply volumes.

“In the spirit of full transparency to the public, we are willing to publish our daily production and stock volumes,” Bird wrote.

Expansion plans

Economy Post had reported that Mr Dangote had begun expanding his refinery in Lagos from 650,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 1.4 million bpd, targeting to establish the largest refinery in the world ever built at a single site in 2028.

Speaking about his expansion plan recently, Mr Dangote said the expansion reflected his group’s belief in Africa’s potential and its commitment to building energy independence for the continent.

“We are expanding the Dangote Refinery from 650,000 barrels per day to 1.4 million barrels per day. When completed, this will be the largest refinery ever built at a single site, surpassing India’s Jamnagar refinery,” he said.

The Jamnagar refinery, owned by Reliance Industries, is located in Gujarat, India. It was commissioned in July 1999 with a capacity of 668,000 barrels per day. The refinery now has a capability of 1.240 million barrels per day, making it the largest refinery in the world, according to Sterling Thermal Technology.

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Mr Dangote wants to exceed the capacity of Jamnagar refinery and plans to complete the expansion within three years. He said the construction would tap existing infrastructure such as ports, land, and logistics systems established during the refinery’s first phase.

“It will take much less time this round because we already have the foundation — the port, the land, the pipelines,” Dangote said. “We know where all the challenges lie from experience.”

Africa’s richest man noted that the refinery would be so sophisticated that at least one line would always be on.

“Even if you shut down one line for 40 days, the other keeps running at 50 percent capacity,” Dangote disclosed, noting that sourcing crude was a major problem for his refinery, as some local producers often preferred exporting it after production than supplying to a local refinery. But he acknowledged that government policy had helped to curb the practice.

“At 650,000 barrels a day, you can struggle for feedstock. But the President’s policy is clear; we cannot keep exporting crude and importing fuel. That must change.”