The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) may lower the price of premium motor spirit (PMS) following Dangote Refinery’s recent ex-depot price reduction.
This move could impact petroleum marketers who imported fuel at higher costs, as they now risk significant losses due to Dangote Refinery’s price adjustment.
Billy Gillis-Harry, President of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlet Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), suggested that NNPCL might reduce both its ex-depot and retail petrol prices in response to Dangote Refinery’s price cut.
On Saturday, Dangote Refinery lowered its ex-depot petrol price from ₦950 to ₦890 per litre. In reaction, Gillis-Harry indicated that NNPCL may follow suit to maintain competitiveness in the deregulated fuel market.
“There is a clear possibility that the NNPC will reduce prices,” he noted.
Currently, NNPCL sells petrol at ₦965 per litre, but it may adjust its pricing downward. Meanwhile, Dangote Refinery and its distribution partners, including MRS Filling Stations, have already reduced retail fuel prices to below ₦940 per litre nationwide.
However, the price reduction has raised concerns among independent marketers. Vice President of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association, Hammed Fashola, and spokesperson Chinedu Ukadike, pointed out that those who purchased fuel at previous higher prices would now be forced to sell at a loss.
Fashola explained that when a major price drop occurs, marketers have no choice but to reduce their prices to stay competitive.
Ukadike added that this uncertainty makes marketers hesitant to lift fuel, fearing potential financial losses.
Some industry players believe Dangote Refinery’s decision to lower its petrol price is a strategic response to the lower landing cost of imported PMS.
Marketers who imported fuel at ₦970 per litre—now higher than Dangote Refinery’s new ₦890 ex-depot price—will be compelled to sell at a loss.
“If you have petrol purchased at ₦950 per litre, within a few days, you’ll have no option but to reduce your price to match Dangote’s ₦890 per litre rate,” Fashola said.
Despite these challenges, PETROAN has confirmed that fuel lifting has commenced at Port Harcourt and Warri refineries.