The Dangote Refinery has lowered the price of petrol again for companies buying fuel directly from them. The new price is N835 per litre, which is N30 cheaper than the previous price of N865. Fuel marketers were informed about this change on Wednesday morning.
This is the second time in less than a week that the huge $20 billion Dangote Refinery has reduced its fuel price. These price cuts are happening as Nigeria tries to make fuel easier to get and more affordable across the country.
However, one group, the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association, warned that even special deals between the government and the refinery might not cause prices to fall drastically. They stated that basic factors like how much fuel is available versus how many people need it (supply and demand), along with the changing value of the Naira currency, still heavily influence the final cost.
Still, these repeated price cuts by Dangote might offer some relief to Nigerians who are facing high costs for many goods and services (inflation) and energy. Experts suggest that if the Dangote refinery continues producing a steady supply of fuel, it could eventually create more competition among fuel sellers.
The Dangote Refinery, based in Lagos, is the biggest refinery in Africa. It’s hoped that it will greatly reduce how much refined fuel Nigeria needs to buy from other countries.
Because Dangote has lowered its price, the price you pay at the pump at petrol stations that buy from them (like MRS stations) should also go down soon. It’s likely that the price per litre will drop below the current N940 level in the coming days.
Alongside Dangote’s local production, fuel marketers also received approval to import a large amount of petrol recently. Documents show they were cleared to bring in 117,000 metric tonnes (which is almost 157 million litres) between April 8th and 16th.
People involved in the fuel industry generally see both the local refining by Dangote and these approved imports as good signs for fuel supply. However, some also caution that bigger economic issues in the country could still put pressure on fuel prices to go up.
