Devakumar Edwin, Vice President of Dangote Group, has attributed the limited impact of Dangote Petroleum Refinery’s free petrol distribution on pump prices to logistics and supply challenges, particularly delays in the arrival of thousands of newly acquired fuel tankers.

Speaking during a tour of the refinery in Lagos on Friday by former presidential aide, Reno Omokri, Edwin explained that the refinery’s plans to distribute petrol nationwide at no additional delivery cost had been hampered by delays in shipping 4,000 compressed natural gas (CNG)-powered tankers ordered from China.

“What happened is that we ordered 4,000 trucks, but the ships from China could not carry them all at once due to vessel shortages. That has had a major impact,” Edwin said. “By the grace of God, before the end of this year, all the trucks will arrive. Once they do, we will begin full rollout across the country, ensuring uniform and lower prices from Taraba to Sokoto.”

Edwin said that the refinery was also contending with crude oil supply constraints that have slowed its transition to using only locally produced crude. He recalled that the company had earlier announced plans to rely entirely on Nigerian crude before the end of 2025 but that the recent suspension of the naira-for-crude policy had disrupted those plans.

The refinery, he noted, temporarily halted its sale of petrol in naira on September 27 following supply shortages but resumed operations hours later after the intervention of President Bola Tinubu.

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“Since the President’s directive that crude be supplied in naira, we are optimistic that the challenges of securing 100 percent local crude supply will be resolved,” Edwin stated.

He further accused some international oil companies (IOCs) of frustrating local refining efforts by inflating prices and insisting that Nigerian refiners purchase crude through their offshore trading subsidiaries, even when the crude originates from within the country.

“These suppliers are trying to make local buyers pay more by forcing them to go through offshore intermediaries,” Edwin said. “But I believe these issues will be resolved soon. The President has made it clear, Nigeria first. His position gives us hope that all petroleum products will eventually be refined domestically.”

Edwin maintained that Nigeria has the capacity to produce high-quality crude comparable to imports, noting that the United States was once the country’s biggest crude customer. He added that while the Dangote Refinery requires about 600,000 barrels of crude per day, this should be attainable given Nigeria’s current output of roughly 1.5 million barrels daily.

According to him, ongoing government intervention and the full deployment of CNG trucks would soon stabilise supply chains and ensure more uniform petrol pricing nationwide.