Dangote Petroleum Refinery has resumed gantry loading of Premium Motor Spirit in naira after a week-long suspension, while raising its ex-depot petrol price to N1,215 per litre.
Recall that the refinery had suspended gantry and coastal loading on July 15 after introducing a dollar-denominated pricing template for refined petroleum products.
With the latest adjustment, the ex-depot price has increased by N140 per litre, representing a 13.02 per cent rise from the previous price of N1,075 per litre.
Checks indicated that the new gantry price by Dangote is lower than the imported products.
As of Wednesday night, some depot owners priced at N1,274 per litre. Also, some retail stations currently dispense at over N1,300 per litre in Lagos.
Sources confirmed that customers had been notified of the resumption of gantry operations, with truck loading expected to commence immediately under the revised naira pricing structure.
The suspension of loading last week significantly tightened fuel supply across the country, pushing prices at private depots sharply higher.
In Lagos, the average ex-depot price reportedly climbed from around N1,075 per litre before the suspension to approximately N1,275 per litre, representing an increase of about N200 per litre, or 18.6 per cent, as marketers adjusted to higher replacement costs.
Dangote Refinery had cited difficulties in accessing sufficient crude oil under the Federal Government’s naira-for-crude arrangement to justify the introduction of dollar-based transactions.
Under the temporary dollar-based pricing template, PMS was sold at $0.779 per litre, Automotive Gas Oil (diesel) at $1.087 per litre, and Jet A1 aviation fuel at $0.942 per litre.
President of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Alhaji Abubakar Maigandi confirmed the development.
Maigandi expressed happiness over the development, saying it would ease the current disruptions encountered in the last one week.
“We are very happy with this development and I want to assure you that our members would resume loading immediately. This will further improve inland distribution after days of constrained availability,” the IPMAN president said.
