The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has resumed the sale of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) in naira, ending its brief dollar-denominated pricing regime while increasing its ex-depot price by N140 per litre.
The development comes one week after the 650,000-barrels-per-day refinery suspended truck loading of petrol and switched to dollar pricing, a move that disrupted the downstream petroleum market, constrained supplies and pushed depot prices higher.
The refinery informed marketers of the change in a notice issued by its commercial department on Wednesday. The notice revealed that the gantry price of petrol had risen from N1,075 per litre to N1,215 per litre, representing an increase of N140 or 13.02 per cent. The coastal loading price also increased from N1,441,575 per metric tonne to N1,602,495 per metric tonne.
According to the notice, the revised prices took immediate effect.
It stated, “Please be advised that all unloaded gantry volumes will be subject to repricing at the new price, which is effective 22nd July 2026. Kindly proceed with placing your order.”
The return to naira transactions follows concerns raised by marketers and consumers over the refinery’s temporary adoption of dollar pricing.
Jeremiah Olatide, Chief Executive Officer of Petroleumprice.ng, confirmed that the refinery had resumed pricing its products in naira.
The refinery had suspended gantry and coastal loading on July 15 while introducing dollar-denominated pricing for refined petroleum products. During that period, the average ex-depot price of petrol at private depots reportedly rose from about N1,075 per litre to approximately N1,275 per litre as supply tightened.
Independent marketers also halted purchases from the refinery, citing difficulties in sourcing the foreign exchange required for transactions.
Industry stakeholders warned that the policy would increase demand for foreign exchange, weaken the naira and lead to higher petrol prices nationwide. Based on Nigeria’s estimated daily petrol consumption of 50 million litres, marketers were projected to require about $40 million daily, or more than $14 billion annually, to sustain purchases under the dollar payment arrangement.
The refinery had explained that it temporarily adopted dollar pricing because it was no longer receiving sufficient crude oil under the Federal Government’s naira-for-crude initiative and had to source additional crude from the international market in dollars.
Following concerns over the impact on fuel supply and foreign exchange demand, the Federal Government intervened.
Although local transactions have now reverted to naira, the new ex-depot price of N1,215 per litre remains below the N1,275 per litre offered by fuel importers. Discussions between the Dangote Group and the Federal Government on the naira-for-crude arrangement are ongoing.
Market operators believe the return to naira transactions will restore normal product evacuation and ease distribution bottlenecks experienced during the week-long suspension. However, they warned that the higher ex-depot price could result in further increases in depot and retail pump prices unless moderated by market competition or lower international crude oil prices.
Meanwhile, petrol prices climbed to about N1,300 per litre in Lagos and other parts of the country on Wednesday as global crude oil prices hovered around $94 per barrel amid renewed tensions in the Middle East.
