Depots across Nigeria have increased the price of petrol to N875 per litre following Dangote Refinery’s announcement of a temporary suspension of petroleum product sales in naira to marketers. This marks another significant shift in the country’s downstream sector, coming after three consecutive price reductions by the refinery since the beginning of the year.
The suspension of naira sales by Dangote Refinery has triggered a sharp rise in depot prices. Data from Petroleum Price revealed that petrol prices at loading depots surged to N875 per litre on Thursday, up from less than N850 per litre earlier in the day.
Several depots, including Parker, Matrix Warri, Zamson, Rainoil, Pinnacle Warri, and Sobaz, adjusted their prices to N875 per litre. For instance, Parker Depot increased its price from N852 to N875 per litre, while Matrix Warri raised its price by N22 to N875 per litre. Similarly, Zamson and Rainoil depots increased their prices from N853 to N875 per litre.
This development means Nigerians, who had enjoyed three petrol price reductions by Dangote Refinery since January, may now face higher prices at fuel stations.
In a statement on Wednesday, the Dangote Group explained that the temporary suspension of naira sales was necessary due to a mismatch between sales proceeds and crude oil purchase obligations, which are denominated in US dollars.
The statement read: “Dear valued customers, we wish to inform you that the Dangote Petroleum Refinery has temporarily halted the sale of petroleum products in naira. This decision is necessary to avoid a mismatch between our sales proceeds and our crude oil purchase obligations, which are currently denominated in US dollars.
“To date, our sales of petroleum products in naira have exceeded the value of naira-denominated crude we have received. As a result, we must temporarily adjust our sales currency to align with our crude procurement currency.”
The refinery also dismissed online claims suggesting it had halted loading operations due to an incident involving ticketing fraud.
“This is a malicious falsehood. Our systems are robust, and we have had no fraud issues. We remain committed to serving the Nigerian market efficiently and sustainably. As soon as we receive an allocation of naira-denominated crude cargoes from NNPC, we will promptly resume petroleum product sales in naira,” the statement clarified.
