Dangote Refinery Raises Petrol Ex-Depot Price Amid Global Oil Market Volatility
Nigeria’s Dangote Refinery has increased its ex-depot price for Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) to N1,245 per litre, a decision directly linked to escalating geopolitical tensions and subsequent disruptions in global energy markets.
In a statement issued on Friday, the refinery cited heightened volatility in crude oil prices as the primary driver. Ongoing geopolitical conflicts have created significant supply chain uncertainties, the company explained, leading to a sharp rise in its costs for acquiring crude oil and covering operational expenses. This adjustment in the ex-depot price—the rate at which fuel is sold to marketers and depots—represents a direct pass-through of these elevated international costs.
The new pricing structure is expected to have a near-immediate impact on Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector. The ex-depot price serves as a key benchmark for independent fuel marketers, who constitute a major portion of the retail market. Analysts predict these marketers will swiftly adjust their own pump prices upward to protect margins, translating the refinery’s increase into higher costs for consumers at filling stations nationwide.
The final retail price will vary by location, influenced by factors such as transportation logistics, regional supply dynamics, and local marketing margins. This could result in significant price disparities across the country, with some areas likely to see petrol selling well above current levels.
This development underscores the persistent vulnerability of Nigeria’s fuel market to external shocks, despite the operational commencement of the 650,000-barrel-per-day Dangote Refinery—a facility designed to reduce dependency on imports. While the refinery now supplies a substantial volume of PMS, its pricing remains tied to global crude benchmarks, meaning domestic fuel costs are still predominantly dictated by international market forces and exchange rates.
For Nigerian consumers and businesses, the price hike reiterates the direct link between global instability and local energy costs. The immediate next step will involve monitoring how quickly and uniformly the increase is implemented across the retail network. The move also reignites discussion on the pace of adopting alternative energy sources and the effectiveness of existing fuel subsidy frameworks, if any, in cushioning citizens against such volatile adjustments.
The situation highlights a critical challenge: as long as global oil prices remain unpredictable due to geopolitical friction, domestic fuel prices in Nigeria are likely to experience similar fluctuations, affecting transportation costs and inflation.
