Nigerians are unable to obtain lower Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) pricing due to the decline in crude oil prices, according to the Crude Oil Refinery Owners Association of Nigeria (CORAN).

CORAN said that local gasoline prices had stayed high despite the declines in crude prices because of the stoppage of Naira-for-crude transactions, middlemen’s profiteering, and rising foreign exchange rates.

This was stated by CORAN spokeswoman Eche Idoko in response to the global collapse in crude oil prices.

During the weekend, crude dropped as low as $64 a barrel for Brent and $59.7 for WTI.

Since Trump’s tax went into effect and after an unexpected announcement of a supply cut by the Organization of Oil Producing Countries (OPEC+), oil prices have been steadily declining.

In the meantime, local costs for refined goods like fuel have been rising in Nigeria despite the decline in worldwide prices.

“The price will keep going up because these middlemen are the ones who want to see that local refining is not sustained,” Idoko responded.

“There are the effects of foreign exchange, the logistics of shipping refined petroleum products, and the impact of middlemen.” All of these factors would drive up the price of petroleum products in Nigeria.

Remember how last week MRS Filling Stations, a partner of Dangote Refinery, Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, and others, raised the price of their gas pumps?

Depending on where they live, Nigerians currently pay between N900 and N975 a liter for gasoline.

Following the deadlock in the Naira-for-crude selling agreement between the firm and the Nigerian government through NNPCL, Dangote Refinery ceased the sale of gasoline products in Naira on March 19, 2025.