The Dangote Petroleum Refinery on Friday increased its ex-depot price for Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) to ₦880 per litre.
Checks on petroleumprice.ng, a real-time tracker of fuel rates, and a Pro Forma Invoice obtained by The PUNCH confirmed the price hike, a jump of ₦55 from the previous ₦825 per litre.
Industry stakeholders warn that the increase will reverberate throughout the downstream supply chain, with pump prices expected to surpass ₦900/litre in several regions, particularly areas distant from major fuel depots.
Despite a drop in international crude oil prices, with Brent falling by 3.02% to $76.47, WTI to $74.93, and Murban to $76.97, the Dangote refinery says it is contending with higher operational costs and exchange rate instability, which continue to place upward pressure on pricing.
On Thursday, Aliko Dangote, President of Dangote Group, disclosed that his 650,000-barrel-per-day refinery is now “increasingly” reliant on imported crude oil from the United States.
Findings also revealed that the refinery plans to import a total of 17.65 million barrels of crude between April and July 2025, with 3.65 million barrels already delivered over the past two months.
The ongoing supply, insiders say, is part of allocations under the Federal Government’s naira-for-crude initiative.
Dangote, speaking during a session with the Technical Committee of the One-Stop Shop for crude and refined products in naira, admitted that his refinery is still grappling with domestic crude shortages, necessitating increased imports.
Meanwhile, labour leaders have slammed marketers for keeping petrol prices high despite favourable global trends.
On Monday, Festus Osifo, President of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), accused oil marketers of exploiting Nigerian consumers.
“If you go online and check the PLAT cost per cubic metre of PMS, convert that to litres and then to our Naira, you will see that with crude at around $60 per barrel, petrol should be retailing between ₦700 and ₦750 per litre,” Osifo said.
He added, “If Nigerians bear the brunt of higher fuel costs, they should be allowed to enjoy the benefit of low pricing.”
Osifo’s warning of impending price hikes appears prescient in light of Friday’s new development.
Depot operators and fuel distributors across Lagos and other cities are already reacting to the hike, with sources indicating that new price bands will soon be adjusted to match Dangote Refinery’s revised rate.
Many marketers had delayed updating their prices since Tuesday after the refinery suspended sales and withheld fresh Pro Forma Invoices, a move that fuelled speculation and allowed for opportunistic markups across key depots.
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