The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has reversed its short-lived decision to sell Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly known as petrol, in United States dollars, returning to naira transactions for domestic buyers. However, the refinery has simultaneously increased its ex-depot price by N140 per litre, a move that could influence fuel prices across the country in the coming days.
The latest pricing adjustment follows a turbulent week in Nigeria's downstream petroleum sector after the 650,000-barrels-per-day refinery temporarily halted petrol truck loading and switched to dollar-denominated pricing. The policy triggered widespread concern among marketers, tightened fuel supplies, and pushed depot prices significantly higher.
In a notice issued by the refinery's commercial department on Wednesday, marketers were informed that petrol sales in naira had resumed with immediate effect under a revised pricing template.
Under the new arrangement, the gantry price of petrol has risen from N1,075 per litre to N1,215 per litre, representing an increase of N140 or 13.02 per cent. The coastal loading price also increased from N1,441,575 per metric tonne to N1,602,495 per metric tonne.
The communication, titled "PMS Price Change Communication," stated:
"Please be advised that all unloaded gantry volumes will be subject to repricing at the new price, which is effective 22nd July 2026.
Kindly proceed with placing your order.
Should you require any further clarification, please do not hesitate to contact us."
The notice effectively ends the refinery's brief experiment with dollar-based domestic fuel sales, a decision that had sparked anxiety across the petroleum industry due to its potential impact on foreign exchange demand and pump prices.
The development was independently confirmed by industry pricing platform Petroleumprice.ng, whose Chief Executive Officer, Jeremiah Olatide, said:
"Yes, the refinery has returned to pricing its product in naira."
The refinery had suspended both gantry and coastal loading operations on July 15 while introducing dollar pricing for refined petroleum products. The decision forced marketers to source fuel from private depots, where limited supply drove ex-depot prices from around N1,075 per litre to approximately N1,275 per litre, an increase of about 18.6 per cent within days.
Independent petroleum marketers had also suspended purchases from the refinery during the period, citing the difficulty of sourcing sufficient foreign exchange to settle transactions.
Industry stakeholders warned at the time that continued dollar-denominated sales would significantly increase pressure on Nigeria's foreign exchange market, weaken the naira, and ultimately result in higher fuel prices nationwide.
With Nigeria consuming an estimated 50 million litres of petrol daily, analysts projected that marketers would require roughly $40 million every day, amounting to more than $14 billion annually, to sustain purchases under the dollar payment system.
The Dangote Refinery defended its temporary policy, explaining that reduced access to crude oil under the Federal Government's naira-for-crude initiative had forced it to procure additional crude from the international market in dollars.
During the dollar-pricing regime, petrol was sold at $0.779 per litre, Automotive Gas Oil (diesel) at $1.087 per litre, while Jet A1 aviation fuel was priced at $0.942 per litre.
A senior regulatory official had earlier maintained that the refinery's decision did not violate the Petroleum Industry Act.
The official said:
"It's a pretty straightforward issue. The naira-for-crude deal is not to Dangote's advantage right now because the company is sourcing crude in dollars. He has absorbed a lot. But maybe he has got to a breaking point. So he has to do stuff to recover costs. And that's why he wants to share that burden with off-takers."
Following growing concerns from petroleum marketers over the implications of the policy for fuel availability and foreign exchange demand, the Federal Government intervened, leading to renewed discussions with the Dangote Group on the future of the naira-for-crude arrangement.
Although petrol sales have now returned to naira, the revised ex-depot price of N1,215 per litre remains substantially higher than the previous rate, even though it is still below the N1,275 per litre currently offered by many fuel importers.
Market operators believe the return to naira transactions will help restore normal fuel evacuation from the refinery and ease the supply disruptions experienced during the one-week suspension. However, they caution that the higher ex-depot price may eventually translate to increased retail pump prices unless international crude prices decline or stronger market competition absorbs part of the additional cost.
Meanwhile, petrol prices in Lagos and several other parts of the country climbed to around N1,300 per litre on Wednesday as global crude oil prices hovered near $94 per barrel, driven by renewed geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.