Petrol Price Holds Steady at N865 per Litre Despite Dangote’s No-Cost Supplies

Major fuel sellers working with the Dangote Refinery continue to charge N865 per litre for petrol, even though they receive supplies at N820 per litre without any added transport expenses.

Checks carried out on Sunday showed that outlets run by companies such as Heyden, AP, and MRS stuck to the previous rate. Only a handful of MRS stations in Lagos dropped their price to N841 per litre, drawing long lines of drivers eager to fill up. At the MRS site in Alapere, queues stretched out as buyers hurried to take advantage of the lower cost, while nearby spots along the same road kept it at N865 per litre.

Further along, at the MRS station in Olowotedo on the Mowe-Ibafo stretch in Ogun State, the price climbed to N875 per litre. Heyden stations offered it for N863 per litre, and other providers like Ardova held firm between N865 and N870 per litre.

Several fuel traders, including Conoil, Eterna, Golden Super, Nepal Energies, Kifayat Global Energy, and Riquest and Gas, had joined forces with the Dangote Refinery in a scheme that skips logistics fees.

The refinery had promised that starting from 15 September, prices would fall thanks to over 1,000 trucks powered by compressed natural gas, which would deliver fuel straight to stations nationwide. The plan aimed to slash delivery costs and bring the wholesale price down to N820 per litre, leading to cheaper fuel at pumps across the country.

In the updated pricing, drivers in Lagos and other parts of the south-west were set to pay N841 per litre, while those in Abuja, Rivers, Delta, Edo, and Kwara states would face N851 per litre. These changes were supposed to kick in right away in certain areas, with a full nationwide push as extra gas trucks joined the fleet. Yet almost three weeks on, the hoped-for savings have failed to appear, leaving most stations at their old levels.

Spot checks spotted several Dangote gas-powered trucks rumbling along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, proving that the direct, fee-free delivery system is now underway.

Some sellers explained that they have not cut prices because they are still using up older batches bought at steeper rates, and they will tweak things once fresh loads arrive. But an insider from the Dangote Refinery pointed out that plenty of these traders already have the new shipments and have no good reason to charge more than N841 or N851 per litre, based on where they operate.

“It is not fair to stick with the higher figures. They get the fuel at N820 per litre with no delivery charges, but they keep passing on bigger costs to buyers—that just does not sit right,” the insider said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The insider added that the refinery holds no power to force changes at the pumps. “We cannot make them follow our lead like in the past. It is just advice now, because the sellers say the rules do not let us set pump prices, and the regulatory body appears to back that view,” the person explained.

“Outlets that shared their locations are getting deliveries already. We could have reached further if not for the recent union troubles, but this coming week should see us spread out more. Even so, the sellers need to realise that people across Nigeria are keeping a close eye and waiting for those lower prices—that is why lines are forming at the Alapere MRS spot,” the insider went on.

Not everyone cheers the refinery’s regular price tweaks, though. The Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria has taken issue with how the refinery times its reductions, claiming it throws the market into disarray.

Olufemi Adewole, the group’s executive secretary, said that hailing these drops as acts of goodwill misses their wider effects. “Talk of these ongoing fuel price cuts by the Dangote Refinery as noble deeds ignores when they happen and how they shake up the trade. They tend to roll out just as other buyers have shipments heading in or stored up, sparking sudden shifts that upset fair play and hit wallets hard—even for the refinery’s local buyers,” Adewole remarked.

For more than a year now, since it began making petrol, the Dangote Refinery has stepped in as the key force guiding fuel costs, pushing aside the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited from its usual spot.

A spokesperson for the NNPC, Andy Odeh, confirmed that the firm had made no moves on its pricing. “We are still at N865 per litre in Lagos. Nothing has changed on our end,” he stated.

Smaller sellers had earlier vowed to look again at their rates once Dangote supplies started flowing, but as of Sunday, none had followed through.