Petroleum marketers and fuel retailers in Nigeria are predicting that petrol prices could soon drop below ₦900 per litre at filling stations, following a new price reduction by the Dangote Refinery.
On Monday, the Dangote Refinery in Lekki, Lagos—which has a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day—introduced a ₦10 rebate for customers buying Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) at ₦835 per litre.
According to Naija News, this change was confirmed in separate interviews with James Tor, National Secretary of the Independent Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), and Billy Gillis-Harry, National President of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN).
The refinery’s latest reduction in wholesale prices is expected to lead to lower pump prices at affiliated retail outlets, including MRS, Ardova (AP), Heyden, Optima Energy, Hyde, and Techno Oil.
By Monday evening, some stations like MRS were selling petrol at ₦910 per litre, but a staff member at an MRS station along the Kubwa Expressway in Abuja told DAILY POST that prices were expected to drop to ₦900 per litre by midweek.
A source within the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) also hinted that the state oil firm may soon reduce its petrol prices to between ₦880 and ₦900 per litre.
This recent cut is at least the third by Dangote Refinery since April 9, when the Federal Government renewed a naira-for-crude agreement with the $20 billion private facility. On April 10, the refinery dropped its ex-depot price from ₦880 to ₦865, then to ₦835, and most recently to ₦825 per litre.
IPMAN’s James Tor said fuel price fluctuations have become normal since the deregulation of Nigeria’s downstream sector. He explained that prices now reflect market conditions, and reductions from major suppliers like MRS and NNPC impact retailers nationwide.
Tor also praised the growing partnership between NNPCL, now led by Bayo Ojulari, and the Dangote Group, calling it a promising step toward stability in the sector.
PETROAN’s Billy Gillis-Harry also acknowledged the projected price drops but raised concerns about frequent price swings linked to Dangote’s pricing strategy. He warned that constant price changes undermine market stability and suggested the cuts might be part of a broader effort to gain market dominance—an approach that demands significant financial strength.
He emphasized that while such strategies could disrupt normal market dynamics, PETROAN supports the NNPCL-Dangote partnership if it helps improve national development and energy access.
The collaboration between the two entities was further reinforced last week during a visit by Aliko Dangote and his team to the new NNPCL leadership.