The retail price of Premium Motor Spirit, petrol, has increased. It is now between N1,030 and N1,150 per litre, following a hike by Dangote Refinery and ex-depot prices of the product.
The $20 billion Dangote Refinery announced a fresh ex-depot price hike from N899 per litre to N955 per litre.
According to an email sent to its customers, Dangote Refinery confirmed the new price regime, stating that marketers purchasing between two million and 4.99 million litres would now buy at N955/litre, while those buying five million litres and above would receive a slightly discounted price of N950/litre.
This shows a substantial N55 or 6.17 percent petrol price increase from N899.50/litre announced as a holiday discount for Nigerians last December.
The spokesperson of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Chinedu Ukadike, confirmed that the product may sell above N1,100 per litre across members’ filling stations nationwide.
“Commuters will likely pay over N1,150 per litre at faraway locations, while locations close to the depot will pay N1,100. This is because we will add about N50 logistics costs. Currently, ex-depot prices have increased to N980,” Ukadike stated.
Billy Gillis-Harry, president of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlet Owners Association of Nigeria, noted that although it’s too early to project petrol retail price after Dangote Refinery’s upward price review, it’s certain that the product would cost more. “Because right now, we still have an obligation with the MRS to be selling at N935, and some of us bought products there. So, if they change their prices because of the Dangote price, then the conversation will be different,” Gillis-Harry explained.
Some filling stations in the federal capital territory of Abuja have already adjusted their petrol prices by at least N50. For instance, those selling on Friday morning at N980 per litre have increased to between N1,040 and N1,155 per litre. Meanwhile, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited retail outlets still sell petrol at N965 per litre as of Friday evening.
This price hike is largely adueto the increase in crude oil prices, which hhave reached$81 per barrel. As a result, depot owners have also increased their petrol prices, with private depots raising their loading costs to N970 in Lagos and N1,000 in Calabar.
