Many petrol marketers in Nigeria have refused to reduce their pump prices even after Dangote Petroleum Refinery cut its ex-depot price of petrol from N880 to N840 per litre. The marketers said they cannot afford to lower their pump prices until they sell off their old stock, which was purchased at a higher cost, around N900 per litre.
The Dangote Group confirmed the price reduction on Monday, July 1, 2025. According to the Group’s spokesperson, Mr. Anthony Chiejina, the new price took effect from June 30. He said, “PMS price has been reduced from N880 to N840 per litre effective 30th June.”
This latest reduction came after crude oil prices dropped following a ceasefire between Israel and Iran. The earlier conflict between the two countries had pushed international crude oil prices close to $80 per barrel, forcing Dangote and other depots to raise their prices. The previous ex-depot price hike saw pump prices rise across Nigeria to between N915 and N955 per litre.
As of Tuesday, July 2, checks by our correspondent showed that some depot owners like RainOil, Pinnacle, Matrix, Emadeb, Wosbab, and First Royal adjusted their prices to N845 per litre in Lagos. Others such as NIPCO, Aipec and Integrated were selling at N850 per litre. In other cities like Warri and Port Harcourt, the average depot price stood at N860.
Despite these reductions at the depot level, most filling stations across the country have refused to adjust their pump prices. In states like Ogun, Oyo, Ondo, Osun, and Ekiti, fuel was still sold at prices ranging between N920 and N935 per litre. Retail stations belonging to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) were also selling at N915 per litre in Lagos and N925 per litre in Ogun.
Industry experts believe that pump prices should now be around N890 or less if depot prices have dropped to N840. But marketers insist that they need to sell off their old stocks first before new prices can reflect at the pump.
Speaking on the issue, the President of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), Mr. Billy Gillis-Harry, said that a business owner cannot reduce the price of a product bought at a higher rate without running at a loss. “How will the price come down at the pump?” he asked. “If a businessman bought fuel at N920 and the price is now N840, would you expect him to just throw away the N80 difference? Multiply N80 by 45,000 litres and you are talking about millions of naira. That’s not realistic,” he explained.
Gillis-Harry stated that once the existing stock is exhausted, prices would begin to fall naturally. He said, “We need to exhaust existing stocks. That is the proper thing to do. A retailer who loses N100 per litre on a 45,000-litre truck will find it difficult to go back to the market and restock.”
He however noted that pressure might mount on marketers to reduce prices when filling stations with cheaper new stock begin to attract more customers. “There will be outlets selling cheaper because they just bought fuel at the new rate. Others will be forced to follow,” he added.
The PETROAN boss also expressed concern about the frequent changes in prices. He urged the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority to consider adopting a six-month price stability period. This, he said, would protect marketers from sudden losses and help stabilise the market.
Gillis-Harry also advised the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) to increase local crude oil supply to help local refineries like Dangote’s meet demand and reduce the impact of international crude price fluctuations.
Recall that the price of petrol was raised just two weeks ago after Dangote refinery increased its gantry price from N825 to N880 per litre. This saw retail prices move to over N950 per litre in parts of the South-East and North.
There were also reports that petrol was selling between N960 and N980 in the far northern states due to transportation costs. But despite a fall in crude oil prices to around $65 per barrel as of Tuesday, July 2, the pump prices have not been reversed.
The spokesperson of the Crude Oil Refinery Owners Association of Nigeria, Mr. Eche Idoko, also explained that the price drop will take some time. He said, “Until the old stock is sold out, the prices will remain high. But in a week or two, we expect prices to reduce if crude oil prices stay low.”
Analysts are also questioning why the Dangote refinery did not return the gantry price to the previous N825, but instead chose N840. Some believe that the refinery may be trying to retain some profit margin despite the fall in crude prices.
As it stands, many Nigerians are hoping to see a reduction in fuel prices in the coming days, especially as crude prices continue to fall and more marketers take delivery of cheaper products.
