Private fuel depot owners across Nigeria have raised the price of petrol to between N1,200 and N1,230 per litre after Dangote Refinery suspended gantry loading operations and switched to dollar-based pricing.
The refinery’s decision to move from naira to dollar pricing for petrol, diesel, and aviation fuel at the gantry has forced marketers to adjust their ex-depot rates to account for potential higher replacement costs.
According to data from Petroleumprice.ng, several major depots have revised their prices upward. In Lagos, Aiteo and NIPCO are selling petrol at N1,200 per litre. In Warri, Optima increased its price to N1,220, while A.Y.M. Shafa quoted N1,230. Depots in Port Harcourt and Calabar are also selling at N1,230 per litre.
Industry Concerns Over Dollarisation
Chinedu Ukadike, Public Relations Officer of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), said the changes are a direct response to shifts in the global oil market and refinery pricing policy. He noted that any increase in operating costs at the refinery level would eventually be passed on to consumers.
The President of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), Billy Gillis-Harry, warned that the shift to dollar pricing risks gradually dollarising the domestic fuel market as marketers transfer foreign exchange costs to end users.
Muda Yusuf, Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), acknowledged that pricing in dollars is commercially logical for a refinery that purchases most of its crude in foreign currency, but stressed that Nigeria’s long-term solution lies in increasing domestic crude supply and stabilising the naira.
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has assured the public that there is sufficient stock of petroleum products to meet national demand, advising against panic buying or stockpiling.
For consumers and businesses, the recent policy shift at the refinery level means higher pump prices are likely in the short term. If the naira continues to weaken against the dollar, fuel costs could rise further, adding to inflationary pressure on households and transport operators across the country.
