Nigeria’s oil and gas industry is bracing for a major shakeup as the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, the country’s largest and most ambitious private-sector energy project, has announced that it will suspend the sale of petrol in Nigerian Naira beginning tomorrow, Sunday, September 28, 2025.
The development, which comes less than a year after the refinery commenced full-scale operations, has already sparked intense debates across the country, with stakeholders warning of dire implications for fuel affordability, exchange rate stability, and national economic security.

The Dangote Refinery, situated in the Lekki Free Trade Zone in Lagos State, is Africa’s largest oil refining complex with a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day. Touted as a game-changer for Nigeria’s decades-long reliance on imported petroleum products, the refinery was expected to meet domestic demand while exporting surpluses to other markets in Africa and beyond.
However, the latest announcement signals a significant departure from expectations. By halting petrol sales in Naira, the refinery effectively shifts its domestic pricing model toward foreign exchange–denominated transactions, a move analysts say reflects the worsening liquidity crisis in Nigeria’s foreign exchange market.

“This is a watershed moment. The refinery is telling Nigerians and the government that the Naira can no longer sustain the value chain of petrol supply,” said an energy analyst, Dr. Olufemi Adebanjo, in a phone interview. “The message is simple: they want to be paid in dollars or other hard currencies, not in a rapidly depreciating local currency.”

Insiders familiar with the decision suggest that the refinery’s management has been grappling with mounting financial pressures. Although the refinery purchases crude oil from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) in dollars, it has been selling refined petrol domestically in Naira. This imbalance, coupled with the Naira’s sharp depreciation, is said to have created massive revenue mismatches.
As of September 2025, the Naira trades at over N2,200 to the U.S. dollar on the parallel market, compared to less than N1,000 in January. This freefall has dramatically eroded the refinery’s ability to recoup costs and service dollar­-denominated debts, including obligations owed to international lenders and equipment suppliers.

“The refinery cannot continue bleeding because of currency mismatches,” one source close to the Dangote Group explained. “If you buy crude in dollars, import spare parts in dollars, and service loans in dollars, but are forced to sell in a weak local currency, the model collapses. This is why the refinery had no choice but to suspend sales in Naira.”

The refinery’s decision is poised to trigger ripple effects across Nigeria’s economy. Petrol prices, already a source of tension in the post-subsidy era, are expected to rise steeply if payments must be made in foreign currencies or at dollar-linked exchange rates.
Currently, an average litre of petrol sells for between N870 and N950 in most parts of Nigeria, depending on logistics and supply. With the refinery moving to foreign exchange pricing, analysts warn that pump prices could cross the N1,200 threshold in the short term, depending on market forces.
For millions of Nigerians, such an increase could translate into higher transportation fares, increased food prices, and further inflationary pressures. The National Bureau of Statistics reported inflation at 34.1 percent in August 2025, with food inflation at 45 percent. Many fear that the refinery’s new policy will exacerbate the cost-of-living crisis.

“It is a painful development,” said Mrs. Ngozi Umeh, a trader at Lagos’ Mile 12 Market. “Transporters will immediately raise fares, and when fares go up, food prices follow. Ordinary Nigerians will suffer more.”

The Federal Government is yet to issue an official statement on the refinery’s announcement. However, top officials at the Ministry of Petroleum Resources confirmed that urgent consultations were underway with the Dangote Group to avert a potential national crisis.
One senior official, who requested anonymity, hinted that the government might explore offering targeted foreign exchange allocations to the refinery in exchange for continued sales in Naira. “This is not just a business decision—it has national security implications. Government will have to step in,” the official noted.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) have expressed alarm at the development. In separate statements, the unions warned that they would resist any fuel price hike resulting from the refinery’s policy shift, accusing the government of failing to protect Nigerians from corporate excesses.

The refinery’s move highlights deeper structural issues in Nigeria’s energy and financial systems. For decades, the country’s downstream petroleum sector has been hamstrung by subsidy regimes, poor refining capacity, and foreign exchange constraints. The Dangote Refinery was seen as the long-awaited solution, but the latest crisis suggests that the rot runs deeper.

“The refinery cannot operate in isolation from the larger macroeconomic environment,” said Professor Adebayo Oni, an economist at the University of Lagos. “If the Naira continues to lose value, if forex remains scarce, and if crude oil supply contracts are dollarized, then Dangote will keep facing this dilemma. The lesson here is that Nigeria must stabilize its currency and rebuild economic fundamentals.”

With the September 28 deadline just hours away, all eyes are on the government’s next move. Industry sources say petrol marketers have already started recalibrating pump prices in anticipation of the refinery’s shift. Some independent marketers in Lagos and Abuja reportedly stopped lifting petrol on Saturday evening, citing uncertainty over pricing templates.
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) is also expected to release a circular clarifying how the transition will be managed, especially for local distribution companies and filling stations.

Analysts warn that if the refinery holds its ground and the government fails to intervene decisively, Nigeria could face temporary fuel scarcity in the coming weeks, as marketers struggle to source dollars for transactions.
The Dangote Refinery’s decision to suspend petrol sales in Naira is more than a business policy—it is a reflection of Nigeria’s fragile economy and worsening currency crisis. For a country where fuel prices often determine social stability, the move could have far-reaching consequences, not only for households and businesses but also for political leadership.
Whether it leads to deeper crises or forces overdue reforms will become clearer in the days and weeks ahead.