Petroleum marketers across Nigeria are bracing for significant financial losses following another sharp reduction in the ex-depot price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) by Dangote Refinery.
The 650,000-barrel-per-day facility announced on Wednesday a fresh cut in its petrol gantry price to N835 per litre, down from N865, marking a N45 reduction within eight days. This development follows the recent renewal of the Federal Government’s naira-for-crude oil swap deal with local refiners.
Reacting to the price adjustment, the spokesperson for the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Chinedu Ukadike, told reporter on Thursday that while the move benefits consumers, it poses heavy losses for marketers holding older stock bought at higher rates.
“It’s a good development for Nigerians. However, marketers with the old price stock will have to lose billions of naira,” Ukadike said. He noted that the naira-for-crude agreement and declining global crude prices had given Dangote Refinery a competitive edge in the downstream sector.
In a statement, Anthony Chiejiena, spokesperson for the Dangote Group, said the price cut is aimed at easing consumer pressure and boosting economic activity.
“These price reductions reaffirm our commitment to providing high-quality petrol at affordable rates,” Chiejiena said. “We anticipate a positive ripple effect across various sectors, especially during the Easter season.”
According to Dangote, the revised pump prices will range from N890 to N920 per litre across the country:
Lagos: N890 (down from N920)
South-West, North-West, North-Central: N900–N910 (down from N930–N940)
South-East, South-South, North-East: N920 (down from N950)
Retail partners such as MRS, AP (Ardova), Heyden, Optima Energy, Hyde, and Techno Oil are expected to reflect the new pricing in their outlets.
Meanwhile, Billy Gillis-Harry, President of the Petroleum Retailers Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria, criticized the price cuts as arbitrary and called for a six-month petrol price stability framework to shield marketers from unpredictable fluctuations.
DAILY POST also gathered that while Dangote’s ex-depot price now stands at N830 per litre, the landing cost of imported fuel sits at N845.70 per litre, based on a Brent crude benchmark of $64.88 per barrel and an exchange rate of N1,604.48/$ as of April 14, 2025.
As of Wednesday night, NNPC retail stations continued selling petrol at N950 per litre, prompting industry watchers to anticipate a response from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited to Dangote’s aggressive price strategy.
The ongoing expansion of Dangote Refinery’s domestic supply capacity has also led to a 30 million-litre reduction in fuel imports, according to the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).
The shake-up in the downstream oil sector is expected to continue as competition intensifies between local refiners and importers.
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