The cost of landing Premium Motor Spirit, or petrol, in Nigeria has decreased by N36, dropping to N900.28 per litre on Thursday, according to the latest data from the Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria.
This reduction marks a 3.62% decrease from the previous landing cost of approximately N936.75 per litre.
Earlier this week, the price had dropped to N890.43, according to The Punch.
Between December 10 and December 13, 2024, oil marketers imported a total of 90,308 metric tonnes of fuel, according to recent findings.
Going by the conversion rate of 1,341 litres to one metric tonne, it, therefore, implies that the marketers brought in about 121.1 million litres of petrol within three days.
The decline in landing cost, which reflects the price of importing and distributing the product, indicates some relief in terms of global market fluctuations and supply chain factors. However, the retail price of petrol in Nigeria is N1,060.
Crude oil prices and foreign exchange rates are key determinants of the cost of refined petroleum products in Nigeria, including petrol, diesel, aviation fuel, and kerosene.
Fluctuations in these factors directly impact the landing cost of these products, as crude oil prices influence production costs and exchange rates affect the cost of imports.
Earlier this week, crude oil refiners and other players in the downstream sector stated that the dollar charges on locally refined Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, coupled with the cost of importing crude are major reasons for the high cost of the product when compared to imported PMS.
The price of petrol produced by the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, according to dealers on Thursday, was N970/litre. Oil marketers had also stated earlier that the price of refined petrol from Port Harcourt Refining Company was N1,030/litre.
This development indicates that imported fuel, excluding regulatory fees, is currently less expensive than domestically refined products.
An analysis of the data released by major marketers showed that the daily spot price of estimated import parity into tank costs was N900.28 from N890 recorded on Wednesday, while a 30-day average price was reduced to N945.23 on Thursday from N946.38 on Wednesday and N958.89 recorded last week.
The Brent crude oil price increased slightly, reaching $73.52 per barrel from $72.06 per barrel the previous day, with the exchange rate at N1,533 per dollar. In Lagos, the ex-depot price range remained between N970 and N1,050 per litre.
Taking advantage of the reduced import costs, oil marketers have imported 121.1 million litres of fuel to bolster domestic supply.
S major marketer, AYM Shafa, imported 15,000 metric tonnes (21.12 million litres) of petrol on Tuesday, December 10, 2024. The ship, Stellar, arrived at the Warri port at 12:01 am and was handled by Agent Peak Shipping.
Document showed that on Thursday, December 12, 2024, a ship named Kriti Ruby carrying 37,308 metric tonnes (50.03 million litres) of petrol berthed at the Apapa port at 2:06 pm. The vessel was managed by West Atlantic Port Services and handled at the ASPM jetty terminal.
Another ship named St Lady Meenah berthed at the Rivers port at 3:45 am on Thursday carrying 23,000mt of PMS representing 30.84m litres. The ship was handled by ULOB at the Bitumen Jetty.
