Dangote Petroleum Refinery has resumed gantry loading of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) in naira, ending a week-long suspension that had thrown Nigeria’s downstream sector into uncertainty over its brief pivot to dollar-denominated sales.
The refinery has set its new ex-depot price at N1,215 per litre, a jump of N140, or 13.02 percent, from the previous N1,075 per litre.
The price increase tracks the recent rally in global crude prices, which has pushed up the cost of refining petrol, diesel and aviation fuel and stoked fears of fresh pump price hikes across Nigeria and other oil-importing nations. Brent crude climbed 3.18 percent to $93.90 per barrel on Wednesday, while West Texas Intermediate rose 2.74 percent to $86.65 per barrel.
Marketers have already been notified that gantry operations will resume immediately under the new naira pricing structure, a development expected to ease the supply disruptions triggered by the suspension. Before halting loading, the refinery had blamed the suspension on difficulties securing sufficient crude under the Federal Government’s naira-for-crude arrangement, which pushed it toward dollar-denominated sales.
Depot prices across the country also climbed on Wednesday. Mid-day data for July 22 showed petrol prices rising across Lagos, Port Harcourt, Warri and Calabar, with some depots hiking prices by as much as N87 per litre.
The steepest increase came from Bulk Strategic Reserve in Lagos, where ex-depot petrol jumped N87 to N1,350, from N1,263, placing it among the country’s highest-priced suppliers. Other Lagos depots, including Liquid Bulk, Masters Energy, Matrix and Sigmund, raised prices by N15 to N17 to N1,280 per litre, while TSL did not quote a new price.
At the pump, prices in Lagos and its environs have climbed to an average of N1,350 per litre, from N1,260, with some retail outlets charging between N1,300 and N1,400 per litre — the highest levels recorded in recent months. The increases are expected to deepen cost-of-living pressures for millions of Nigerians already grappling with rising transportation, food and business expenses.
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