Barring any last-minute change in plan, the Dangote Petroleum Refinery is expected to start its direct fuel distribution scheme soon, as 1,000 Compressed Natural Gas-powered trucks required for the exercise have arrived in Nigeria.

With the 1,000 trucks, the refinery would start distributing fuel directly to marketers in Lagos, Ogun, and other South-West states, pending the delivery of the remaining 3,000 trucks.

Impeccable sources and officials at the $20bn Lekki-based plant, who did not want to be named due to a lack of authorisation to speak to the press, told our correspondent that more trucks have been coming into the country in batches. They expressed optimism that all the trucks would be delivered by the end of next month.

The PUNCH exclusively reported last week that the planned fuel distribution by the Dangote refinery with the 4,000 CNG-powered trucks could not start on August 15 due to logistics challenges in China. The firm had earlier announced plans to kick off the direct fuel distribution exercise with the 4,000 CNG-powered trucks. The trucks were ordered from China to be delivered in Lagos for Dangote’s direct fuel distribution.

However, the plan could not materialise because the company was only able to receive 450 trucks as of last week, with 150 on the way, bringing the total to 600 trucks last week. But on Sunday, sources within the company said the number of trucks received had risen to 1,000, while the remaining 3,000 are expected to arrive before the end of September.

A very senior executive officer of the Dangote Group told our correspondent that there were not enough ships to transport the trucks to Nigeria from China. This challenge stalled the shipping of the trucks to Nigeria before August 15, when the scheme was supposed to commence.

“There are not enough ships coming from China to handle 4,000 trucks and 4,000 tankers,” the source stated last week. He gave further insights, saying the Dangote Group received 200 trucks in the first shipment and 250 in the second batch, while another 150 were on a vessel.

Meanwhile, sources told our correspondent on Sunday that more trucks were received in the previous week. According to the sources, all the trucks have been paid for and are ready to be conveyed to Nigeria, but this has been difficult due to insufficient ships to handle the logistics.

With 1,000 trucks in custody, the fuel distribution will commence in Lagos and the South West before the scheme spreads to other zones as the remaining trucks arrive at the Lagos port. “We have received up to 1,000 trucks. More are still coming, and we believe all will be delivered by the end of September,” an inner source said.

Another official stated, “We couldn’t start the fuel distribution scheme because of this logistics challenge in China. We didn’t expect that; we can only appeal to Nigerians to bear with us. However, we won’t wait until we receive all the trucks before we start. We will start the scheme soon with the available trucks. We will start with the South-West and extend it to other zones as we receive more trucks. By September, everything should be set. Nigerians should bear with us.”

A consultant to the Dangote Group corroborated this, saying, “With the schedule we have, by the end of September, we shall be in possession of all the trucks. All the trucks are actually available in China. The remaining 3,000 are waiting for vessels to bring them to Nigeria. The logistics issue in China is our major challenge.

“We’ve received 1,000 trucks in all, as of this weekend. We are likely going to start in Lagos and the South West. As more trucks come in, we will be moving to other regions. We are certain that before mid-September, we would have covered the major part of the country. As we receive all the trucks, the entire country will be covered.”

Earlier, the company said that it was expecting 60 shiploads of the trucks in six weeks. “Over the next six weeks, the refinery expects at least 60 shiploads of these trucks to arrive in the country,” Group Chief of Branding and Communication, Dangote Industries Limited, Mr Anthony Chiejina, said in a statement on August 10.

In June, the Dangote refinery revealed that it was investing over N720bn to deploy 4,000 CNG-powered trucks across Nigeria for the nationwide distribution of petroleum products. The company said the initiative would save Nigerians over N1.7tn annually in fuel distribution costs.

The privately owned refinery plans to absorb more than N1.07tn every year in fuel logistics expenses, saying the scheme is expected to significantly benefit over 42 million micro, small, and medium enterprises by lowering energy costs and improving profitability.

“This strategic programme is part of Dangote’s broader commitment to eliminating logistics bottlenecks, enhancing energy efficiency, promoting environmental sustainability, and supporting Nigeria’s economic development. Lower fuel distribution costs will reduce production expenses, alleviate inflationary pressures, and stimulate overall economic growth.

“The initiative is also expected to revitalise dormant filling stations, creating over 15,000 direct jobs across the logistics value chain, including positions for drivers, station managers, and attendants at the new CNG stations,” the company stated.

Moreover, the refinery said that the programme would help curb cross-border smuggling of petroleum products while supporting a more efficient and environmentally friendly distribution system. When the scheme was announced in March, the Dangote refinery planned to deliver fuel directly to filling stations, telecommunication companies, and other bulk users, eliminating the roles of middlemen.

This caused panic among tanker drivers and members of the Natural Oil and Gas Suppliers Association of Nigeria over fears that they might lose their livelihoods.

In reaction, NOGASA members warned that the refinery’s plan to bypass existing distribution channels and supply refined petroleum products directly to end users would lead to a nationwide disruption, long-term product scarcity, and the collapse of existing supply networks.

The oil and gas suppliers called on the refinery to halt its plan and seek further dialogue before commencing the distribution of products to end users, urging it to learn from the failures of refineries previously managed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.

But The PUNCH later gathered that Dangote and the stakeholders had met to iron out their concerns. The National Publicity Secretary of NOGASA, Chinedu Ukadike, and the National President of the National Association of Road Transport Owners, Yusuf Othman, confirmed this to our correspondent in an interview.