The Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN) welcomed the opportunity to present a detailed memorandum to the House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream) on Tuesday, 28 July 2026, in Abuja. This statement summarises DAPPMAN’s submission for the public record and reaffirms the Association’s commitment to working constructively with the National Assembly, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and other stakeholders to strengthen Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector.
Presented by Executive Secretary Olufemi Adewole on behalf of DAPPMAN’s 37 financial members, the memorandum addressed the general challenges facing depot operators, issues relating to importation regulations, engagement with domestic refineries, and other matters relevant to a full and informed understanding of the sector by the Committee. DAPPMAN’s members collectively operate storage capacity in excess of 2.2 million metric tonnes and have been central to Nigeria’s fuel importation, storage and distribution capabilities since the establishment of the first private depots in 1998. At the outset, DAPPMAN commended the NMDPRA for its role in maintaining product availability nationwide, sparing Nigerians the scarcity and fuel queues that have disrupted the sector in years past.
Domestic Refining and a Competitive Market
DAPPMAN and, indeed, all Nigerians welcomed the commencement of operations at the Dangote Refinery and the prospect of the nation becoming self-sufficient in refined products. The Association’s submission noted that experience so far has been mixed, given the scale of the refinery’s share of PMS supply, and that pricing has not always reflected the free-market dynamics envisaged under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021. DAPPMAN’s position is that domestic refining and a distributed network of depots, storage and retail infrastructure are complementary, not competing, pillars of national supply security, and it has encouraged transparent, commercially sustainable off-take and supply arrangements between refineries and depot operators. Storage capacity delivers value only where it remains serviceable, competitively supplied and connected to viable evacuation routes; DAPPMAN’s submission called for a level playing field that allows this significant national infrastructure to operate at its full potential in support of nationwide supply security.
Import Licensing and Regulatory Transparency
Building on this record of stability, DAPPMAN’s memorandum drew attention to the fact that import allocation slots for the first three quarters of 2026 were issued to the same group of marketers and respectfully implored the Committee to encourage the Authority to broaden participation to other qualified operators in future allocation cycles. DAPPMAN recognises the PIA’s provision for a regulated import contingency mechanism and views this as a shared safeguard for nationwide fuel availability, rather than an alternative to domestic refining.
Port Charges and Currency Billing on Domestic Transactions
The memorandum also highlighted two operational cost concerns. First, members continue to report duplicated charges on vessels engaged in purely domestic liftings, invoiced both at the loading point and again at the discharge port. Second, certain charges tied to entirely domestic transactions continue to be billed in United States dollars, notwithstanding a presidential directive, conveyed in 2026 to the then Minister of Transportation, suspending foreign-currency-denominated billing for local operations. DAPPMAN respectfully urged the relevant Taskforce and authorities to prioritise the implementation of this directive, noting that resolving it would help moderate the landed cost of petroleum products for Nigerian consumers.
DAPPMAN's Recommendation
In the spirit of collaboration, DAPPMAN’s memorandum set out a series of recommendations for the Committee’s consideration, including:
- Full enforcement of the presidential directive suspending foreign currency-denominated billing for domestic petroleum transactions, alongside a review of duplicated port charges on products moved entirely within Nigeria.
- Preserve the fuel import option under the Petroleum Industry Act as a regulated contingency mechanism, to guarantee energy security alongside the growth of domestic refining capacity.
- Accelerated investment in a national downstream logistics master plan, including the dredging of priority waterways, rehabilitation of NNPCL pipelines and depots, and piloting of rail freight for petroleum products, to reduce the sector’s dependence on long-distance road haulage.
- Establishment of a coordinated government-industry mechanism, involving DAPPMAN, other industry associations, refiners, NNPC Ltd, the NMDPRA, the FCCPC, ports and transport agencies, to periodically review supply conditions, infrastructure constraints and emerging risks.
DAPPMAN thanks the House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream) for the opportunity to contribute to this important national conversation and remains available to provide any further information the Committee may require in support of its deliberations.
Date: Thursday, 30 July 2026