Dangote Petroleum Refinery reduced its petrol loading price from N825 to N815 per litre on Thursday, intensifying competition in the downstream oil sector.
The price cut attracted oil marketers, who began bypassing private depot owners to source directly from the refinery.
This N10 reduction is expected to trigger a competitive response from private fuel depots, likely forcing them to lower prices to retain market share.
It was earlier reported that the landing cost of imported petrol in Nigeria fell to N774.72 per litre.
Marketers anticipate that if this trend continues, pump prices could drop to around N800 per litre.
Marketers say the situation has sparked a price war, with retail marketers favoring imported petrol over refinery products due to lower prices.
“Crude oil is a major component in the production of fuel, so a further reduction in its price would definitely warrant a drop in petrol price, and it is possible to drop to N800 per litre,” the National Publicity Secretary of the Independent Marketers Association of Nigeria, Chief Ukadike Chinedu, stated.
In a bid to retain market share, the 650,000 bpd Dangote Refinery cut its loading cost to N815 per litre on Thursday.
With the N10 levy from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, the total cost rises to N825 per litre.
As a result, private depot owners in Lagos have lowered their loading price from N830 to N825 per litre.
Commenting, the IPMAN National Publicity Secretary, Chinedu Ukadike, said, “Yes, there is speculation that the price of imported products is now lower. That is the reason for the price war. It is the beauty of deregulation. Dangote has millions of litres and would not want any external force to take its market share. So it would have forced the price reduction.”
Meanwhile, the landing cost of petrol has increased to N803.35 per litre from N774.82 per litre. This is still cheaper than the ex-depot price of Dangote Refinery’s petrol, according to the Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria
