The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) is preparing to introduce a new petrol pricing regime following its recent lift of approximately 103 million litres from Dangote Refinery between September 15 and 30, 2024, sources familiar with the situation have revealed.
During this period, Dangote Refinery loaded 2,207 of the 3,621 trucks dispatched, transporting a total of 102,973,025 litres out of the planned 400 million litres of petrol, intended to be lifted at a rate of 25 million litres per day. This amounted to just 26% of the expected output, according to records reviewed by Premium Times.
The NNPC began petrol lifting operations from Dangote Refinery on September 15 as the sole off-taker of the product. On the same day, the company announced it was purchasing petrol from the refinery at ₦898.78 per litre and selling it to marketers at ₦765.99 per litre, effectively subsidising the product by nearly ₦133 per litre.
As petrol from Dangote Refinery is distributed to stations across the country, the NNPC has signalled that prices will increase to reflect depot sale prices, statutory charges, transportation costs, and regional distribution challenges.
Despite this, petrol pump prices at NNPC stations have fluctuated between ₦855 and ₦897 over the past month, depending on the location. However, with the NNPC gradually depleting its imported petrol stock and increasingly relying on Dangote Refinery’s output, insiders warn that a price hike is imminent.
Previously, a pricing template released on September 16 projected petrol prices of ₦950.22 per litre in Lagos, ₦980.22 in Rivers State, ₦992.22 in Abuja, and ₦999.22 per litre in Nigeria’s North-West geopolitical zone. Prices in Borno and other North-Eastern states were expected to reach ₦1,019 per litre, while the South-East would see prices at ₦980.22. Consumers in the South-West (Oyo, Ogun, Ekiti, Osun, Ondo) were projected to pay ₦960.22 per litre.
However, insiders now say the September 16 estimate is outdated, given Nigeria’s foreign exchange fluctuations and rising crude prices due to escalating tensions in the Middle East.
“With crude now trading for more than $78 per barrel as of Sunday and the naira exchanging for ₦1,660 to a dollar, there is no way a litre of petrol can sell for below ₦1350 per litre in Nigeria,” the official said.
On September 3, the NNPC had already raised petrol prices from ₦617 per litre to between ₦855 and ₦897, depending on location.