Nigeria’s Dangote Refinery has once again adjusted the ex-depot price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), slashing it to N835 per litre, its second price drop in less than seven days.
This latest cut represents a N30 reduction from the previous N865 per litre rate and a total decrease of N45 from the N880 benchmark earlier last week.
The 3.5% price dip underscores the refinery’s ongoing efforts to position itself as a dominant player in the domestic fuel supply chain while easing cost pressures for downstream operators.
A few days before this latest adjustment, Dangote Refinery had trimmed its gantry (loading) price by N15, signaling a clear strategy to disrupt Nigeria’s fuel market through competitive pricing.
Despite the reductions at the wholesale level, pump prices across the country remain largely static, with marketers yet to pass the cost savings on to consumers.
This gap between depot and retail pricing has raised concerns among industry observers about distribution bottlenecks and market inefficiencies.
Experts see the pricing trend as part of a calculated push by the refinery to undercut reliance on imported fuel, expand its footprint, and influence national pricing benchmarks in a volatile energy environment.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government has reaffirmed its support for the Crude and Refined Product Sales in Naira initiative, aimed at reducing dollar demand and safeguarding the country’s energy future.
The initiative gained further traction during a high-level meeting on April 7, where senior stakeholders from across the oil and gas value chain gathered to review progress and chart the path forward.
In attendance were key figures including NNPC Limited’s Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Dapo Segun, officials from NNPC Refineries and NNPC Trading, as well as representatives from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), and Afreximbank.
With Dangote Refinery’s pricing playbook now unfolding in real time, attention is shifting to whether other market participants, and regulators, will follow suit or resist the ripple effects of the emerging price realignment.
