By Victor Njoku

 Brent crude has fallen to approximately $77 to $78 per barrel in the wake of a ceasefire agreement between the United States and Iran, and Nigeria’s petroleum retailers are pressing refiners, depot owners, and fuel importers to ensure ordinary consumers share in the windfall.

The Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria PETROAN at the weekend called for an immediate reduction in both ex-depot and retail pump prices, arguing that the current decline in global crude markets left no justification for maintaining elevated prices at the filling station.

“Market realities should be reflected in both ex-depot and retail pump prices to ensure fairness and economic relief for the public,” said Billy Gillis-Harry, PETROAN’s National President, in a statement issued in Abuja.

Gillis-Harry pointed to three converging factors behind the price softening: the ongoing implementation of the U.S.-Iran peace agreement, rising crude exports from the Middle East as the Strait of Hormuz gradually returns to normal operations, and growing concerns over weakening global oil demand. Together, he said, these dynamics pointed to a relatively stable to bearish market outlook in the near term.

Market analysts project Brent crude could trade between $75 and $82 per barrel in the coming week, while West Texas Intermediate WTI is expected to range from $72 to $79 per barrel, figures that PETROAN says should feed directly into lower costs along Nigeria’s downstream supply chain.

The PETROAN president was careful, however, to flag the risks that could unravel the current trend. A breakdown in peace negotiations, fresh supply disruptions, or unexpected production cuts by OPEC and its allies, he warned, could swiftly reverse the gains and push prices upward again.

Gillis-Harry also turned his attention to a jarring anomaly within the domestic market itself: in some instances, he said, the landing cost of imported petroleum products was proving lower than the prices being offered by Nigerian refiners, a situation he described as both surprising and unacceptable.

The revelation, he argued, underscored the urgent need for a more genuinely competitive downstream sector, and he called on the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority NMDPRA to continue issuing import licences to qualified marketers without restriction.

“Competition remains one of the most effective mechanisms for driving efficiency, reducing costs, and protecting consumers,” Gillis-Harry said, maintaining that opening the market to more suppliers would naturally pressure all participants, domestic refiners included, to align their prices with prevailing market realities, discourage monopolistic tendencies, and guarantee Nigerians a steady and affordable supply of petroleum products.