The hopes that increased local refining will engender competition and drive down prices of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), or petrol, may be manifesting as both the privately-owned Dangote Refinery and the state-run Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) have begun selling the product to marketers below N1,000 per litre.
The price slash for oil marketers has consequently led to a reduction in the pump price of petrol.
Petrol is expected to sell at N935 per litre from Monday (today), the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) announced on Sunday.
IPMAN National President, Alhaji Maigandi Garima, said the development was as a result of the marketers’ new deal with Dangote Refinery.
The new price, Garima said, was necessitated by the reduction in the ex-depot price of Dangote Refinery’s petrol as well as a uniform arrangement that would enable marketers to sell at N935 in their outlets nationwide.
“Dangote Refinery has brought another new arrangement of loading and pricing by which marketers would pay a fixed ex-depot price of N899.50k,” Garima said.
“The refinery is running a programme whereby it wants the fuel consumption across the country to be at the same rate. We are expecting the new arrangement to kick-start on Monday.
“We have been loading from the Dangote Refinery and the refinery is saving us in this festive period,” he said.
This came a day after the Dangote Refinery announced a partnership with MRS that would see petrol sell at N935 per litre at MRS retail outlets nationwide.
The Dangote/MRS partnership, Nigeria News Source gathered, is also to ensure that consumers benefit from the recent reduction in the ex-depot price of Dangote petrol.
Dangote Refinery was commissioned in May 2023 but began refining and rolling out petrol in September 2024 for the domestic market. It currently exports petrol to four African countries. When it started selling petrol to marketers, the price was N990 per litre. In November, Dangote Refinery slashed the price to N970, and on Thursday, December 19, it announced a further slash to N899.50.
A statement posted on the X handle of the President of the Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, on Saturday said the Dangote Refinery was built for the benefit of Nigeria and Nigerians, promising that the refinery would continue to work with various value chain players to deliver high-quality petrol at cheaper prices.
“Our aim is for all Nigerians to have ready access to high-quality petroleum products that are good for their vehicles, good for their health, and good for their pockets,” the statement said.
In the same vein, the NNPC has also reduced the ex-depot price of petrol at the Port Harcourt Refinery to N899 for oil marketers, from the previous price of N1,020 per litre, spokesperson of Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), Joseph Obele, said in a statement on Saturday.
PETROAN National President, Billy Gillis-Harry, while commending the NNPC, said the price reduction would bring relief to motorists and Nigerians during the holiday season.
“The reduction in PMS price by NNPCL is a demonstration of the company’s commitment to making petroleum products more affordable for Nigerians,” Gillis-Harry said.
“We commend NNPCL for responding to our call for affordable PMS prices,” he said.
Earlier, Gillis-Harry had, in response to Dangote Refinery’s price slash, urged NNPCL to follow suit.
NNPC commenced production at the old Port Harcourt Refinery in November, adding to the output of Dangote’s 650,000 barrels-per-day refinery.
Industry watchers reckon that the reduction in the price of petrol is a response to deregulation and increased industry competition. They are expecting to see the further drop in the price of the product.
Comparing notes, Garima of IPMAN recalled that during the 2023 Yuletide, a litre of petrol was sold at N2,000 in the northern and eastern parts of the country because, according to him, petrol was being imported at that time. He noted, however, that today, the highest price of petrol in those areas is N1,100 because of local refining.
Garima commended the naira-for-crude sale deal which, he said, is good for the growth of the economy.
Similarly, Aliko Dangote also commended President Bola Tinubu for facilitating the crude-for-naira deal that has led to the reduction in the prices of petroleum products across the country.
The sale of crude to local refineries in naira and the corresponding purchase of petroleum products in naira was approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) in September and took effect on October 1. Analysts believe it has reduced pressure on the dollar and ensured the stability of the local currency.
