Dangote Resumes Fuel Supply, Petrol Price Set to Drop — Marketers Assure Nigerians

|By Adejumo Adekunle

Independent petroleum marketers have confirmed that petrol prices are expected to drop in the coming days following the resumption of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) loading at the Dangote Refinery.

President of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Abubakar Maigandi, on Monday that members have begun lifting fuel from the 650,000bpd refinery at N877 per litre, up from the previous N820.

He assured that increased supply into the market will ease the nationwide scarcity and force pump prices downward.

“With more product now available to our members, the price will definitely come down. I cannot state the exact figure, but Nigerians should expect a reduction,” Maigandi said.

The National President of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), Billy Gillis-Harry, echoed the optimism, insisting that once supply from Dangote and major depots stabilises, affordability will return.

Field checks confirmed that retail outlets including MRS, Emedeb, Optima and Bova have started dispensing fuel to motorists after days of dry pumps.

Petrol had spiked to between N940 and N965 per litre across parts of Abuja in the last two weeks, following what industry stakeholders blamed on a supply disruption at the Dangote facility.

Dangote Vice President, Devakumar Edwin, had last week disclosed that over 310 million litres of PMS had already been allocated for nationwide loading.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and several private depots had recently adjusted their pump prices from N905–N910 to as high as N965 per litre.