Dangote Petroleum Refinery has resumed the sale of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly known as petrol, in naira after a week-long suspension, while increasing its ex-depot price to N1,215 per litre.
The refinery had halted gantry and coastal loading operations on July 15 after introducing a temporary dollar-denominated pricing system for refined petroleum products, citing challenges in accessing sufficient crude oil under the Federal Government’s naira-for-crude arrangement.
With the resumption of naira transactions, the refinery’s ex-depot price has risen by N140 per litre, representing a 13.02 per cent increase from the previous price of N1,075 per litre.
Despite the increase, market checks indicate that Dangote’s revised gantry price remains lower than the cost of imported petrol.
As of Wednesday night, some private depot operators were selling petrol at N1,274 per litre, while several filling stations in Lagos dispensed the product at prices exceeding N1,300 per litre.
Industry sources confirmed that customers had been informed of the resumption of gantry operations, with truck loading expected to commence immediately under the revised naira pricing framework.
The temporary suspension of loading last week had tightened fuel supply across the country, triggering a sharp increase in prices at private depots.
In Lagos, the average ex-depot price reportedly climbed from about N1,075 per litre before the suspension to around N1,275 per litre, an increase of approximately N200 per litre, or 18.6 per cent, as marketers adjusted to higher replacement costs.
During the brief period of dollar-based pricing, Dangote Refinery sold petrol at $0.779 per litre, Automotive Gas Oil (diesel) at $1.087 per litre, and Jet A1 aviation fuel at $0.942 per litre.
Reacting to the development, the President of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Alhaji Abubakar Maigandi, welcomed the refinery’s decision to resume naira sales.
He expressed optimism that the move would ease the fuel supply disruptions experienced over the past week.
“We are very happy with this development and I want to assure you that our members will resume loading immediately. This will further improve inland distribution after days of constrained availability,” Maigandi said.
The resumption of naira-denominated petrol sales is expected to improve product availability nationwide and help stabilise fuel distribution after days of market uncertainty.
