Dangote Petroleum Refinery has raised its ex-depot price for Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) also known as petrol to ₦880 per litre.
The move, confirmed on Friday, has sparked renewed anxiety over the affordability and stability of fuel prices in the country.
Information sourced from petroleumprice.ng, a platform that monitors fuel prices, as well as a Pro Forma Invoice reviewed by this publication, indicates that the new rate reflects a ₦55 increase from the previous ₦825 per litre.
This upward adjustment is expected to cascade through the fuel distribution chain, potentially driving pump prices above ₦900 per litre, particularly in regions located far from key supply points.
The price revision occurs despite a dip in international crude benchmarks. On Friday, Brent crude slid 3.02% to $76.47 per barrel, WTI stood at $74.93, and Murban traded at $76.97. However, the global market shift is offering little cushion locally, given ongoing concerns over supply stability and exchange rate volatility.
Operationally, the refinery is grappling with increased expenses, in part due to its growing dependence on U.S.-sourced crude.
Aliko Dangote, President of the Dangote Group, disclosed that his 650,000-barrel-per-day facility is now “increasingly” sourcing crude from the United States.
Latest figures show the refinery is scheduled to import approximately 17.65 million barrels of crude between April and July 2025, with about 3.65 million barrels already received. These imports are being carried out under the Federal Government’s naira-for-crude initiative.
Speaking to the Technical Committee of the One-Stop Shop overseeing the domestic crude allocation system, Dangote reiterated that persistent local crude shortages have compelled the refinery to look abroad for feedstock.
Earlier in the week, Festus Osifo, President of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, criticised the current petrol pricing regime.
“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 N700 and N750 per litre,” he said.
He expressed frustration over the mismatch between falling global oil prices and stagnant local fuel prices, arguing that consumers should benefit when crude prices drop.
“If Nigerians are suffering from the pain of high pricing, they should also benefit from the gain of low pricing,” Osifo added.
His prediction of rising prices now appears to be playing out. Industry insiders say marketers are already recalibrating their pricing models. Depot owners and distributors in Lagos and beyond are bracing for price adjustments in response to the refinery’s new benchmark.
Some marketers reportedly paused pricing decisions earlier in the week when Dangote temporarily suspended sales and delayed issuing new PFIs (Pro Forma Invoices). That brief freeze created room for speculative hikes across multiple depots.
