By Adewale Sanyaolu
The price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol has risen above the average market price of N930 per litre at NNPC retail outlets across the Lagos metropolis.
The development has further fuelled speculations that the breakdown of negotiations on the Naira-for-Crude policy between Dangote Petroleum Refinery and NNPC could have been responsible for the sudden hike.
Findings by Daily Sun reveal that while the average market price of petrol across major marketers’ filling stations remain at N930 to N935 per litre, NNPC retail outlets was selling at N955 per litre.
A market survey conducted across some filling stations operated by major and independent marketers confirmed uniformity in prices.
TotalEnergies, Mobil, Conoil pegged prices at N935 per litre while MRS sold at N930 per litre.
NIPCO, Heyden and Northwest pegged prices at N935 per liter.
Some motorists who spoke in separate interviews with Daily Sun expressed surprise at the price NNPC was selling, saying that before now, NNPC was the preferred retail outlet as their prices were cheaper compared to others.
At the NNPC retail outlet located at Abbatoir on the old Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway, fuel price moved to N955 per litre yesterday morning from N860 per litre.
However, the price of petrol at the NNPC stations around Fadeyi, Ago Palace Way, and Second Rainbow outlets increased to N925 per litre from N860 it sold on Wednesday.
NNPC stations along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and Ikorodu Road now sell at N925 per litre, after initially displaying N930 per litre to customers.
On March 19, Dangote Petroleum Refinery announced the temporary suspension of the sale of petroleum products in Naira.
According to Dangote, the decision is necessary to avoid a mismatch between its sales proceeds and crude oil purchase obligations, which are currently denominated in U.S. dollars.
“To date, our sales of petroleum products in Naira have exceeded the value of Naira-denominated crude we have received. As a result, we must temporarily adjust our sales currency to align with our crude procurement currency,”.
The refinery added that it remains committed to serving the Nigerian market efficiently and sustainably.
“As soon as we receive an allocation of Naira-denominated crude cargoes from NNPC, we will promptly resume petroleum product sales in Naira,”.