Petrol Prices Rise Nationwide as Dangote Resumes Sales in Naira, Quotes New Rate

Prices of petrol have continued to rise across Nigeria after the Dangote Petroleum Refinery resumed the sale of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) in naira and increased its ex-depot price by N140 per litre.

The development brings to an end its brief dollar-denominated pricing regime.

POLITICS NIGERIA reports that the refinery announced the development in a notice issued by its commercial department on Wednesday, confirming that the revised prices took immediate effect.

The decision comes one week after the 650,000 barrels-per-day refinery suspended truck loading of petrol and switched to dollar pricing, a move that disrupted fuel supplies, pushed up depot prices and unsettled the downstream petroleum market.

According to the notice, the gantry price of petrol rose from N1,075 per litre to N1,215 per litre, representing an increase of N140 or 13.02 per cent. The coastal loading price also increased from N1,441,575 per metric tonne to N1,602,495 per metric tonne.

The communication, titled “PMS Price Change Communication,” stated, “Please be advised that all unloaded gantry volumes will be subject to repricing at the new price, which is effective 22nd July 2026. Kindly proceed with placing your order. Should you require any further clarification, please do not hesitate to contact us.”

The refinery’s decision marks a return to domestic petrol sales in naira after its temporary migration to dollar transactions sparked widespread concerns among marketers and consumers.

Industry pricing platform Petroleumprice.ng confirmed the development, with its Chief Executive Officer, Jeremiah Olatide, saying, “Yes, the refinery has returned to pricing its product in naira.”

The refinery had suspended both gantry and coastal loading on July 15 while introducing dollar-denominated pricing for refined petroleum products. The move forced marketers to source products from private depots, where ex-depot prices climbed sharply from about N1,075 per litre to approximately N1,275 per litre due to tighter supplies.

Independent marketers also halted purchases from the refinery, arguing that sourcing foreign exchange for payments had become difficult. Industry stakeholders warned that the policy would increase demand for dollars, weaken the naira and ultimately push petrol prices higher across the country.

Based on Nigeria’s estimated daily petrol consumption of about 50 million litres, marketers were projected to require around 40 million dollars every day, amounting to more than 14 billion dollars annually, to sustain purchases under the dollar payment arrangement.

The refinery had defended the temporary policy, explaining that it was no longer receiving sufficient crude oil under the Federal Government’s naira-for-crude initiative and had to buy additional crude from the international market using dollars.

A senior regulatory official had also defended the move, saying, “It’s a pretty straightforward issue. The naira-for-crude deal is not to Dangote’s advantage right now because the company is sourcing crude in dollars. He has absorbed a lot. But maybe he has got to a breaking point. So he has to do stuff to recover costs. And that’s why he wants to share that burden with off-takers.”

Following complaints from petroleum marketers about the impact on fuel supply and foreign exchange demand, the Federal Government intervened, leading to discussions with the Dangote Group over the future of the naira-for-crude arrangement.

Although the refinery has now resumed naira sales, industry operators noted that the new ex-depot price of N1,215 per litre is expected to trigger further increases in depot and pump prices unless market conditions improve or global crude oil prices decline.

The impact is already being felt across the country. On Wednesday, petrol sold for about N1,300 per litre in Lagos and several other locations as international crude oil prices hovered around 94 dollars per barrel amid renewed tensions in the Middle East.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) also increased the pump price of petrol at its retail outlets for the second time in less than two days.

A market survey showed that NNPCL raised its pump price from N1,270 per litre on Tuesday to N1,335 per litre on Wednesday, representing an increase of N65 per litre. The new price has already taken effect at NNPCL filling stations in Abuja, including outlets in Wuse Zone 6, Zone 4 and other parts of the Federal Capital Territory.