The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has said Dangote Refinery’s decision to fix its Aviation Turbine Kerosene gantry price at ₦1,820 per litre will support stability in Nigeria’s aviation fuel market and improve compliance among oil marketers. The regulator said the move is expected to improve pricing transparency and provide a clearer benchmark for monitoring supply and distribution across the Jet A1 value chain.
According to the authority’s Director of Public Affairs, Mr George Ene-Ita, Dangote Refinery’s latest indicative gantry price offers a more transparent pricing structure that will help the regulator strengthen oversight in the aviation fuel market. Speaking in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja on Saturday, Ene-Ita said the refinery’s decision to publish its Jet A1 gantry price would improve the authority’s surveillance operations nationwide.
He said the regulator would rely on the published pricing template to monitor compliance among marketers and operators who have continued to price aviation fuel above expected levels despite existing regulatory guidance.
According to him, the new benchmark creates a clearer reference point for routine market checks and will help the authority identify excessive pricing across the downstream chain.
“All petroleum product prices have been deregulated. However, with particular emphasis on ATK, the Dangote refinery, having released its latest indicative gantry prices, which they promised to publish daily going forward, will enable us to ensure tacit compliance by marketers and operators during our routine surveillance operations nationwide,” Ene-Ita said.
The development comes as airline operators and passengers continue to face mounting pressure from elevated aviation fuel costs, which have significantly increased operating expenses and contributed to higher ticket fares across domestic routes. Industry stakeholders have repeatedly raised concerns over the sustained cost of Jet A1 and its impact on airline sustainability.
According to Ene-Ita, Dangote Refinery’s move is not just a pricing adjustment but a strategic concession aimed at easing cost pressure in the aviation value chain. “We are not unmindful of the fact that what the Dangote Refinery is doing is a concession to help ease overhead cost pressures in the aviation sector in order not to truncate its operations,” he said.
He added that the authority would ensure the market responds fairly to the pricing intervention and that consumers benefit from the move. “So, we will play our part to see that Nigerians benefit from the gesture,” Ene-Ita said.
NMDPRA said its pricing benchmarks were derived from Platts average figures recorded between April 17 and 23 and reflect prevailing international oil market conditions. The authority added that while the framework is designed to guide fair pricing, actual market prices remain vulnerable to crude volatility, geopolitical tensions, foreign exchange pressure and broader supply-side disruptions affecting Nigeria’s aviation fuel market.