Fuel Marketers Slash Depot Prices As Dangote Holds At N1,216
Petrol depot prices fell across Nigeria’s major supply hubs on Tuesday as fuel marketers rolled out fresh reductions of up to N23 per litre, easing a price spike recorded barely a week earlier and pointing to sharper competition in the deregulated downstream market.
Mid day depot data showed that depots in Lagos, Warri, Calabar and Port Harcourt either lowered their rates or held them steady, with no facility posting an increase. In Lagos, the Dangote Petroleum Refinery kept its gantry price at N1,216 per litre, the lowest among the major suppliers, while Pinnacle matched it after a N2 cut. MRS trimmed its rate by N2 to N1,222, Emadeb by N7 to N1,218, and Aiteo, Nipco, Ascon, Shema and T Time held between N1,218 and N1,220.
The steepest cuts came from the coastal depots. In Warri, Rain Oil lowered its price by N23 to N1,245, with Matrix, Bulk Strategic, Liquid Bulk, Masters and Sigmund clustering around the same level and TSL down N6 to N1,244. Rain Oil made a similar N23 reduction in Port Harcourt to N1,245, where Matrix and Optima settled at N1,243. In Calabar, Hong Petroleum quoted the area’s lowest at N1,233 after a N2 cut, while Northwest and Mainland dropped to N1,235 and N1,240.
Diesel also softened. Matrix reduced automotive gas oil by N55 to N1,645 in Lagos and by N70 to N1,650 in Warri, while Aiteo and A.Y.M Shafa posted cuts of N15 and N40 respectively.
The reductions reverse a rally that gripped the market only days before. On July 22, most depots raised petrol prices by as much as N87 per litre, with Bulk Strategic Reserve in Lagos peaking at N1,350, after the Dangote refinery resumed naira denominated sales and simultaneously lifted its own gantry price from N1,075 to N1,215, a 13.02 percent jump. That resumption followed a one week suspension during which the plant switched to dollar pricing, quoting petrol at 0.779 dollars per litre, citing difficulty sourcing crude under the Federal Government’s naira for crude arrangement. The moves unfolded against a firmer global oil market, with Brent crude trading near 95 dollars a barrel.
The current convergence, from N1,216 in Lagos to about N1,245 elsewhere, marks a narrowing spread that industry watchers link to improved supply and intensifying rivalry among marketers courting bulk buyers. The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria welcomed the return to naira sales, with its president, Abubakar Maigandi, saying members expected retail prices to ease as they resumed lifting from the refinery.
The pricing tug of war traces back to the removal of petrol subsidy on May 29, 2023, which ended decades of controlled pump prices and ushered in full deregulation of the downstream sector. Consumption fell sharply in the aftermath, from a 2022 peak of about 66.7 million litres per day to 47.5 million in 2023, before recovering to roughly 52.9 million litres by late 2025, according to regulatory data. The 650,000 barrels per day Dangote refinery, commissioned in 2023 and now running at full capacity, has reshaped supply, accounting for about 72 percent of national petrol output earlier this year and shifting Nigeria toward becoming a net exporter of refined products.
Whether this week’s depot reductions reach the pump remains uncertain. Retail prices, which climbed toward an average of N1,350 per litre in Lagos after the July spike, will ultimately hinge on logistics costs, distribution margins and the direction of crude prices in the weeks ahead.