Aging infrastructure threatens Nigeria’s refining capacity, supply chains - DAPPMAN warns

...calls for establishment of taskforce within NMDPRA

The Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN) has issued a serious call to the government to urgently address the nation’s aging pipelines, inefficient ports, and extensive infrastructure gaps, warning that these failures could undermine the historic impact of new refining capacities like the Dangote Refinery.

DAPPMAN Chairperson, Mrs. Moroti Adedoyin-Adeyinka, made the appeal on Wednesday during the OTL Africa Downstream Week \text{2025} in Lagos, where she was represented by Mrs. Ngozi Ekeoma, Group Managing Director of Nepal Energies Ltd.

Adedoyin-Adeyinka acknowledged the 650,000 barrels-per-day capacity of the Dangote Refinery as a critical step toward ending fuel imports, but stressed that weak infrastructure poses an existential threat to this progress.

She noted that Nigeria’s pipelines, ports, and storage depots require immediate and extensive rehabilitation to support the new refining output and improve overall supply chain efficiency.

The DAPPMAN leader pointed out that the majority of the country’s pipeline network, built over 40 years ago, suffers severely from vandalism, under-capacity, and poor maintenance. These pervasive problems force marketers to rely heavily on road transport, a method that dramatically increases operational costs, causes significant delays in distribution, and exposes petroleum products to high risks.

She also identified shallow drafts, crippling congestion, and cumbersome customs procedures at ports as major barriers to efficient product movement, urging the government to digitise port operations, simplify customs processes, and improve vessel turnaround times to boost national trade competitiveness.

While acknowledging that the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) provides a strong foundation for reform through agencies like the NMDPRA and the Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund (MDGIF), Adedoyin-Adeyinka expressed concern over slow implementation, weak coordination, and policy delays.

She stated these issues create uncertainty for investors and actively limit sectoral reform.

To fast-track essential projects, she called for the establishment of a Downstream Infrastructure Implementation Taskforce within the NMDPRA. This taskforce would be responsible for harmonising tariffs and ensuring transparent, open access to facilities.

She strongly emphasised that the PIA must transition from paper to practice through transparent tariffs and the effective deployment of the MDGIF to close logistics gaps nationwide.

Adedoyin-Adeyinka further highlighted that new private and modular refineries in several states signal Nigeria’s decisive move toward fuel self-sufficiency. However, she warned that this progress must be immediately supported with strategic investments to prevent future distribution bottlenecks.

She proposed concrete steps, including developing pipelines linking the Dangote Refinery to inland depots, expanding storage capacity, particularly in the northern parts of the country, and building modern, digitalised truck parks for safer, more organised operations.

On regional trade, the DAPPMAN Chairperson advocated for harmonised product standards within the ECOWAS and AfCFTA blocs and the creation of cross-border depots in neighbouring countries.

She concluded that aligning Nigeria's infrastructure with its refining capacity could ultimately position the country as West and Central Africa’s leading downstream logistics and energy hub.

The success of domestic refining, she cautioned, rests entirely on achieving transparency and regulatory consistency within the sector.

"The end of fuel imports is near. But progress depends on whether our infrastructure and policies match our refining growth," she said, stressing that with accountability and urgency, Nigeria could meet its own fuel needs and become the region's energy trade powerhouse.