By Adewale Sanyaolu
A price war is currently disrupting Nigeria’s downstream fuel market, as intense competition among petrol retailers drives aggressive price cuts, creating instability across the sector.
The disruption, which started with a price reduction announcement by the Dangote Petroleum Refinery last week, from N920 per litre to N890 among its partners, which included MRS, Heyden, AP (Ardova Petroleum), Optima Energy, Hyde, and Techno Oil, has seen other marketers dropping prices.
In Lagos yesterday, NNPC retail outlets further dropped their price from N910 per litre to N880 in Lagos and N935 in Abuja.
At the NNPC filling station at Apple Junction, Lagos, the product was sold for N880 per litre.
However, the price remained at N910 per litre at the NNPC retail outlets on Charity Road, Abule; College Road in Ogba; and on Acme Road, also in Ogba.
The situation has created stiff competition among retail outlets as they battle to retain customers with the most affordable price.
The refinery equally announced a reduction in the gantry price of petrol, from N865 to N835, effective last week. The reduction in gantry price marks the second price reduction within a week.
The refinery assured that high-quality Dangote petrol will now be available at the following prices across all its partner retail outlets.
Dangote disclosed that its key partners—including MRS, AP (Ardova), Heyden, Optima Energy, Hyde, and Techno Oil—will offer petrol at N890 per litre, down from N920 in Lagos.
In the South-West, the price will be N900 per litre, reduced from N930.
In the North-West and North-Central, the price will be N910 per litre, lowered from N940.
In the South-East, South-South, and North-East, the price will be N920 per litre, down from N950.
According to Dangote, these price reductions reaffirm its commitment to providing high-quality petrol at affordable rates, benefiting consumers across the nation.
“In addition, we are working collaboratively with our partners to ensure equitable reflection of this price reduction.”
Dangote Petroleum Refinery has consistently worked to reduce the prices of petrol and other refined petroleum products, ensuring the continued benefit of Nigerian consumers. For example, in February, the refinery reduced prices twice by N125.
In addition, products such as diesel and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) have also experienced significant price reductions due to the refinery’s sustained efforts.
The refinery said it anticipates that this latest reduction in PMS prices will generate a positive ripple effect throughout various sectors of the economy, providing much-needed relief to consumers and contributing to broader economic growth, particularly during the Easter season.
“Dangote Petroleum Refinery remains steadfast in its commitment to ensuring a steady supply of premium-quality petroleum products, with sufficient reserves to meet domestic demand, along with a surplus for export.
“This strategy is designed to support the stability of the domestic market while also contributing to the growth of Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves.
“Furthermore, Dangote Petroleum Refinery calls on industry stakeholders, including marketers and distributors, to continue sourcing their products from the refinery, ensuring that the benefits of these price reductions are fully realised across the country.”
Recall further that Dangote, in its bid to ensure it gets a grip on the market, had last month sealed a pact with three fuel retail outlets—MRS, Heyden, and AP—to sell petrol at its various filling stations in Lagos, other South-West states, the North, the South-South, and the South-East at prices ranging between N860 and N895 per litre.
The agreement aims to offer Nigerians more affordable fuel by reducing the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) at the pumps, potentially providing relief for consumers who have been facing high fuel costs.
This deal is expected to have a significant impact on the Nigerian oil and gas market, particularly in terms of price stability and fuel scarcity.
But despite the assurance by the Federal Government last week that the Naira-for-crude policy would not be discontinued, feelers from the fuel market suggest otherwise, as MRS, Heyden, and AP have jerked up petrol prices from N860 and N895 per litre (earlier agreed with Dangote) to N920 and N940 per litre, respectively, an indication that the earlier deal has collapsed.