…Brent tops $107
Dangote Petroleum Refinery has raised its Premium Motor Spirit gantry price by N85 per to N1,350 per litre, from N1,265, as a surge in global crude oil prices and higher product replacement costs put renewed pressure on Nigeria’s downstream market.
The latest adjustment represents a 6.7 percent increase and takes the refinery’s wholesale price above the current petrol landing cost of N1,311.36 per litre, according to a note from Petroleumprice.ng.
Brent crude, the benchmark for Nigeria’s oil, was trading at about $107.86 per barrel on Friday, according to OilPrice.com, after earlier climbing above $108.
The sharp rise in crude prices has increased the cost of replenishing petrol stocks, putting pressure on refiners, importers and depot operators to adjust their selling positions.
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Depot marketers across the country have already been selling at higher prices in anticipation of the Dangote increase, as rising replacement costs make it more expensive to replenish existing stocks.
The pressure extends beyond Lagos, with market participants reporting similar replacement-cost concerns across major coastal trading hubs including Warri, Port Harcourt and Calabar. Actual depot prices, however, vary depending on supplier, stock position and product availability.
The latest adjustment marks another reversal in Dangote’s petrol pricing in recent months. BusinessDay reported in August that the refinery raised its petrol gantry price by N20 to N1,185 per litre from N1,165, after cutting the price by N50 earlier that month.
The refinery had also cut its petrol price by N75 to N1,175 per litre in June as global crude prices eased following a de-escalation of tensions in the Middle East.
Earlier in May, Dangote raised its petrol price to N1,350 per litre from N1,275, its 12th price adjustment between January and May. The increase was later reversed, with the refinery restoring the price to N1,275 before subsequently cutting it to N1,200.
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The repeated price changes have highlighted the extent to which domestic petrol prices remain exposed to global crude market movements, even as local refining capacity expands.
BusinessDay had previously reported that Dangote’s pricing decisions have increasingly responded to movements in international crude prices and replacement costs, with changes at its gantry often influencing pricing across the wider depot market.
The new N1,350 per litre gantry price now becomes the refinery’s latest wholesale reference point, leaving depot owners and marketers to reassess their selling positions as crude prices remain elevated and replacement costs rise.
