(Dangote Refinery. Photo by Channels Tv)
After briefly deciding to price the product in US dollars, the Dangote Petroleum Refinery has started selling Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as gasoline, in naira.
The new price is N1,215 per litre, but the business has also raised the ex-depot price by N140 per litre.
Only one week has passed since the 650,000-barrel-per-day refinery implemented dollar-based pricing and halted truck fuel loading.
This action decreased fuel supply, generated uncertainty in Nigeria’s downstream oil industry, and led to a dramatic increase in depot prices nationwide.
In a notice sent to marketers by its commercial department, Dangote Refinery confirmed that all local petrol purchases would once again be transacted in naira, with the updated pricing taking immediate effect.
Under the revised structure, the gantry price rose from ₦1,075 per litre to ₦1,215 per litre, representing a 13 per cent increase, while the coastal loading price also climbed from ₦1.44 million per metric tonne to about ₦1.60 million per metric tonne.
The refinery informed customers that any petrol volumes not yet loaded would be billed at the new price and encouraged marketers to begin placing fresh orders under the revised arrangement.
Industry information platform Petroleumprice.ng confirmed that the refinery had officially reverted to naira transactions, with its Chief Executive Officer, Jeremiah Olatide, stating that marketers had already been notified of the resumption of naira payments.
The refinery had earlier suspended both gantry and coastal loading on July 15 when it switched to dollar pricing for refined petroleum products.
During that period, many independent marketers struggled to purchase fuel due to difficulty accessing the foreign exchange required to complete transactions.
This pushed many of them toward private fuel depots, where prices rose swiftly amid limited supply, with the average ex-depot price reportedly climbing from about ₦1,075 per litre to roughly ₦1,275 per litre within days.
Industry experts had cautioned that sustaining dollar-based sales would place further strain on Nigeria’s foreign exchange market, noting that based on the country’s estimated daily petrol consumption of about 50 million litres.
Marketers would need roughly 40 million US dollars daily, or more than 14 billion dollars annually, to keep purchasing petrol from the refinery.
Dangote Refinery had earlier explained that its temporary shift to dollar pricing was due to inadequate crude oil supply under the Federal Government’s naira-for-crude arrangement, which forced it to source additional crude from the international market using dollars, thereby raising its operating costs.
Following concerns raised by petroleum marketers and industry stakeholders, the Federal Government intervened and opened discussions with the Dangote Group regarding the future of the naira-for-crude initiative.
Although petrol is now being sold in naira again, the elevated ex-depot price means filling stations may still adjust pump prices upward in the coming days.
Petrol was already retailing at around ₦1,300 per litre in Lagos and several other cities as of Wednesday, as global oil prices hovered near 94 dollars per barrel amid renewed tensions in the Middle East.
Market analysts believe the return to naira payments should ease fuel distribution and reduce supply challenges.
They, however, warn that unless international crude oil prices decline or competition increases, motorists could continue facing higher fuel prices in the coming weeks.
