How Dangote-led fuel price war hit TotalEnergies shareholders

For the first time in at least 21 years, shareholders of TotalEnergies Marketing Nigeria will not receive a dividend for 2025, as a fierce price war sparked by the entry of the Dangote refinery has caused the French major’s downstream unit to record a net loss.

The Lagos-listed company, one of Nigeria’s largest fuel marketers, reported a loss of ₦13.85bn, its first since at least 2005, compared to a profit after tax of ₦27.49bn in 2024, according to data compiled by The Africa Report. 

Revenue declined 26% to ₦767.63bn from ₦1.04trn, while shareholders’ funds fell 37% to ₦47.54bn as of December 2025, according to its audited financial statements released on Tuesday.

‘An unprecedented challenge’

Less than four months after petrol production commenced at the 650,000-barrels-per-day Dangote refinery in September 2024, a price war broke outfollowing successive increases in pump prices and escalated after Dangote secured supply agreements with several marketers.

Jean‑Phillippe Torres, chairman of TotalEnergies Marketing Nigeria, said the supply of petroleum products was unstable last year, adding that Dangote refinery became “the game changer in the downstream sector”.

“The continued price war and persistent market instability driven by incessant price fluctuations continued to define the operating environment,” he wrote in the annual report. “These dynamics have resulted in significant financial losses for major players across the industry.”

He said the sector faced “an unprecedented challenge” in 2025 that had “a significant impact on our performance, and unfortunately, this was reflected in our financial results”.

Torres said the outlook for Nigeria’s petroleum downstream sector in 2026 “suggests a period of relative stability in the supply chain,” adding that the price war may continue this year and beyond.

“Despite these pressures, I am confident that our re‑engineered structure and highly capable workforce will position us to deliver excellent returns to our shareholders in 2026 and in the years ahead,” he added.

TotalEnergies remains the only international oil company operating in Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector, after rivals such as Shell and ExxonMobil exited fuel retailing years ago.

Shareholders feel pinch

At its 18 March 2026 board meeting, TotalEnergies Marketing Nigeria proposed no final dividend for last year. In 2024, it paid ₦40 per share, totalling ₦13.58bn.

“Unfortunately, the company will not be able to recommend any dividend payment this year due to the negative results recorded,” Torres said. “This decision, though difficult, reflects our commitment to prudent financial management and the long‑term sustainability of the business.”

Retail investors who have long relied on the company’s steady dividend stream are feeling the pinch.

“Shareholders are always keen on dividends,” said Bisi Bakare, national coordinator of the Pragmatic Shareholders Association of Nigeria. “As investors, we are not happy that TotalEnergies is not paying dividends. This is a company that has been paying dividends and returning value to shareholders for years.”

She, however, highlighted the macroeconomic significance of the Dangote refinery amid the ongoing global geopolitical tensions.

“If we did not have the Dangote Refinery, I can only imagine how difficult the situation in this country would be. Everything that has an advantage also has a disadvantage. In a nutshell, the Dangote Refinery is still a blessing to the country,” she added.

Losers and winners

TotalEnergies is not the only company facing difficulties. The market disruption has inflicted substantial losses on traditional fuel marketers whose business models have depended heavily on importing products for years.

Nigeria’s oldest oil marketer, Conoil, experienced a 77% decline in profits to ₦2bn in 2025. TotalEnergies and Conoil are part of a group of six major marketers that have developed extensive depot and filling station networks around imported refined products.

Oando, which exited the retail segment in 2019 to concentrate on upstream and trading, has also faced pressure. By October 2025, it announced that it had ceased trading in refined products entirely, with no petrol cargoes sold in the first nine months of the year.

Even the state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Company’s retail arm has been losing ground. As Dangote increasingly supplies the domestic market and sells directly to distributors and large buyers, NNPC Retail’s longstanding central role in fuel supply has been eroded.

By September 2025, Dangote further tightened its control by supplying fuel directly to petrol stations and large end-users using compressed natural gas-powered trucks, effectively bypassing traditional middlemen and lowering competitors’ logistics costs.

Among the winners in the new order is MRS Oil Nigeria – controlled by Sayyu Dantata, a half-brother of Aliko Dangote. The company has expanded its retail presence rapidly after securing an early supply deal with the refinery.

Dangote strengthens position with $4bn financing

Meanwhile, Dangote Group announced on Tuesday that the African Export-Import Bank has underwritten $2.5bn of a $4bn senior syndicated term loan for its refinery and petrochemicals subsidiary.

The five-year facility aims to consolidate existing debt, optimise the plant’s capital structure, and align its financing with current operational realities, according to a statement.

Dangote is set to more than double its refinery capacity to 1.4 million bpd by 2028, aiming to become the world’s largest refiner.

“This financing marks an important step in strengthening the financial foundation of Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals and positions the business for the next phase of its growth,” its founder, Dangote, said.  (The Africa Report)