ONCE again, the Dangote Petroleum Refinery has announced another reduction in the gantry price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, from N865 to N835 per litre.
The gantry or ex-depot price is the price marketers get the PMS from the refinery before inserting their markup price in their respective retail outlets.
The price reduction, which was effected a few days before the Easter celebration, was confirmed to our correspondent by oil marketers.
“The price reduction is expected and is a bold effect of a deregulated market. It also shows that we are moving in tandem with deregulation and price dynamics. In a competitive, deregulated petroleum market, this is expected,” former Chairman of Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), Adetunji Oyebanji, told The ICIR.
The price slash came after the recent decline in global crude oil prices, which have dropped to $65.54/ per barrel from over $70 per barrel in recent weeks for Brent crude, according to findings from oilprice.com
The new price represents a ₦30 reduction from ₦865 per litre implemented six days ago, marking a 3.5 per cent decrease, and a ₦45 reduction from the ₦880 per litre sold by the facility last Wednesday.
Despite an earlier lowering of its gantry price from N880 to N865 per litre, Nigerians are yet to witness the reduction in filling retail outlets across the country, with the prices still within the threshold of N950/litre in most major cities.
THE ICIR reports that Dangote Refinery, with a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, plays a dominant role in Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector.
The refinery owned by Aliko Dangote is currently exploring the economic advantage of the naira-for-crude swap deal announced as a permanent policy to support local refining of crude and strengthen the naira.
Crude oil prices moved lower earlier today, while traders took a step back to assess the situation and how deeply Trump’s tariffs would affect economic growth prospects and the global oil demand outlook.
Harrison Edeh is a journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting, always determined to drive advocacy for good governance through holding public officials and businesses accountable.