DANGOTE Petroleum Refinery has again announced a reduction in the ex-depot price of its petrol, from N835 to N825 per litre.
The new pricing, effective from Monday, May 12, comes as a relief amid Nigeria’s ongoing efforts to stabilise fuel supply and reduce dependence on imported petroleum products.
The price reduction, energy analysts said, was connected to the global oil price, with oilprice.com affirming the current Brent crude price at $65.21 per barrel.
They suggested that the reduction could lead to lower pump prices and benefit most consumers who rely on fuel for their economic activities. They also argued that energy costs, which impact food prices, could lessen, leading to a drop in the prices of goods.
“What the Federal Government is losing through the drop in global oil price, with a sharp drop from the budget benchmark of $75/barrel, is a gain to the domestic market which must inadvertently see price drop for Nigerian consumers,” an oil sector governance expert, Oft Henry Ademola Adigun told The ICIR.
Sources confirmed on Monday that the refinery had reduced its price to N825 per litre for its customers, through a rebate of N10 after successful loading of products at the refinery.
The sources said marketers were still paying N835 per litre for products but received a N10 refund after loading and evacuating them from the refinery.
The covert price adjustment has allowed customers and marketers to retail the product at a lower band of N830 to N835, outpricing importing marketers and private depot owners.
The slash in price, some analysts said, was not unconnected with the recent visit by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Dangote Petrochemical Refinery, Aliko Dangote, to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to strengthen and promote beneficial partnerships and foster healthy competition.
“We expect further price slashes and healthier competition, especially now the sector has been fully deregulated,” a development economist, Kingsley Obiakor, said.
The NNPCL confirmed the meeting in a statement and noted that the commitment was to ensure healthy competition geared towards national prosperity.
During the visit, Dangote pledged to collaborate with the new NNPCL management to ensure energy security for Nigeria.
He said, “There is no competition between us; we are not here to compete with NNPC Ltd. NNPC is part and parcel of our business, and we are also part of NNPC. This is an era of co-operation between the two organisations.”
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.