Barring any last-minute changes, MRS Oil and other partners of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery are set to begin selling petrol at ₦739 per litre from Tuesday, following a major reduction in the refinery’s ex-depot price.
The Dangote Petroleum Refinery recently slashed its gantry price for Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) from ₦828 to ₦699 per litre.
Speaking at a press briefing at the Lekki refinery on Sunday, President of the Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, said the price cut was aimed at ensuring Nigerians benefit from locally refined fuel.
Dangote disclosed that MRS filling stations would be the first to reflect the new pump price in Lagos, with other partner stations expected to follow nationwide.
He expressed concern that despite reductions at the depot level, some filling stations deliberately keep pump prices high, frustrating efforts to ease the burden on consumers.
According to him, reports indicated that some marketers had been encouraged by certain officials to maintain high prices.
Dangote said the refinery would resist such moves and enforce the new pricing regime, stressing that petrol selling at ₦970 per litre would soon be a thing of the past.
He explained that marketers willing to lift products directly from the refinery could purchase petrol at ₦699 per litre, noting that the minimum purchase requirement had been reduced from two million litres to 500,000 litres to accommodate more marketers, including members of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN).
Dangote stated that the refinery would deploy its fleet of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) trucks to support nationwide distribution and was ready to acquire more trucks beyond the initial 4,000 units if necessary.
He added that for December and January, petrol should not sell above ₦740 per litre anywhere in the country.
Questioning the justification for high pump prices, Dangote said the cost of transporting petrol within Lagos is between ₦10 and ₦15 per litre, bringing the total cost to about ₦715. He wondered why petrol would then be sold for as much as ₦900 per litre.
He also accused the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) of issuing 47 import licences covering over seven billion litres of petrol for the first quarter of 2026, despite the refinery’s capacity to meet local demand.
According to him, continued fuel importation is undermining local refining and pushing modular refineries toward collapse.
Dangote insisted that the refinery is not a monopoly, noting that no operator is barred from building refineries or acquiring existing ones. He said the refinery was established primarily for Nigerians’ benefit, even if it means operating at reduced margins.
Highlighting product quality, Dangote said petrol supplied from his refinery is straight-run fuel, unlike blended imported products. He added that Nigerians now have the option of buying better-quality fuel at a lower price.
The refinery is also offering a 10-day credit facility to marketers to improve liquidity and widen participation.
Currently, the facility produces about 70 million litres of refined products daily, including 45 million litres of petrol and 25 million litres of diesel—exceeding Nigeria’s estimated daily fuel consumption.
Dangote further revealed plans to list the refinery on the Nigerian Exchange, allowing Nigerians to own shares in the facility.
Discussions are ongoing with the Securities and Exchange Commission to enable share purchases in naira, with dividends paid in dollars.
The latest price reduction, which took effect on December 11, 2025, marks the 20th petrol price adjustment by the refinery this year, reinforcing its growing influence on Nigeria’s downstream petroleum market.
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