The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) is gearing up to implement a new petrol pricing structure, with prices expected to climb to ₦1350 per litre or higher. This move follows the company’s recent lifting of over 103 million litres of petrol from the Dangote Refinery between September 15 and 30, 2024, signaling a major shift in the nation’s fuel market.
According to sources who shared this information with Premium Times, the NNPC has been working with the Dangote Refinery as the sole off-taker of the petrol produced during this period. Despite a plan to lift 400 million litres in total, only 102,973,025 litres were moved in 2,207 trucks out of 3,621 dispatched. This represents just 26 percent of the anticipated target, creating concerns about the availability and pricing of petrol in the coming months.
During the initial stages of lifting from Dangote Refinery, NNPC purchased petrol at ₦898.78 per litre and sold it to marketers at ₦765.99 per litre. The company was subsidizing the product by ₦133 per litre. However, with rising costs tied to depot sales, transportation, and distribution issues across different regions, the current prices may soon be outdated.
Over the past month, petrol prices at NNPC stations have ranged between ₦855 and ₦897 per litre, depending on the location. However, as the company depletes its imported fuel reserves and shifts to relying more on Dangote Refinery supplies, experts warn that these prices are unlikely to remain stable.
Earlier in September, a pricing template indicated that NNPC planned to raise prices to ₦950.22 per litre in Lagos, ₦980.22 in Rivers, and ₦992.22 in Abuja. In other regions, particularly in the North, prices were expected to exceed ₦1,000 per litre. The template also estimated that prices could reach as high as ₦1,019 in North-Eastern states like Borno.
However, insiders have suggested that the situation has changed since then. Fluctuations in the exchange rate and rising global crude oil prices—exacerbated by conflicts in the Middle East—have put further pressure on the cost of petrol.
A source from NNPC told NAIJANEWS, “With crude now trading for more than $78 per barrel as of Sunday (today) and the naira exchanging for ₦1,660 to a dollar, there is no way a litre of petrol can sell for below ₦1350 per litre in Nigeria.”
