Dangote Refinery Cuts Petrol Price to ₦1,075/Litre, Opens Gantry Sales to All Marketers
By Eyo Nsima
Dangote Petroleum Refinery has reduced the ex-gantry price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly known as petrol, from ₦1,125 per litre to ₦1,075 per litre, in a move expected to deepen competition in Nigeria’s deregulated downstream petroleum market and put fresh pressure on fuel importers.
The refinery also aligned its coastal loading price at ₦1,075 per litre and suspended its consortium marketing arrangement, opening petrol loading at its gantry to all qualified marketers.
The suspended consortium included NIPCO Plc/11 Plc, MRS, TotalEnergies, Conoil, AA Rano, AYM Shafa, Rainoil/Eterna, Ardova Plc, NNPC Retail and other participating marketers.
Industry sources said the latest adjustment is aimed at making locally refined petrol more competitive, discouraging imports and broadening access to products for marketers across the country.
They added that opening sales to all qualified marketers is expected to improve product availability, strengthen competition and enhance efficiency in the distribution of petroleum products nationwide.
The price reduction comes amid sustained softness in global crude oil prices and follows recent calls by the Federal Government and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) for domestic petroleum product prices to reflect prevailing market conditions under the deregulated pricing regime.
Market analysts said the new ex-gantry price is likely to compel private depot operators and fuel importers to review their pricing strategies as competition in the downstream sector intensifies.
The development is also expected to trigger fresh reductions in depot prices, with the possibility of lower retail pump prices if marketers pass the lower acquisition costs on to consumers.
Since commencing operations, Dangote Refinery has emerged as a major price setter in Nigeria’s downstream petroleum market, with its pricing decisions increasingly influencing depot prices, retail fuel costs and the country’s gradual shift from dependence on imported refined petroleum products.
