DAILY POST
Nigeria’s petroleum marketers said that the Premium Motor Spirit (Petrol) price may be reduced to between N900 and 1000 per litre by this year’s Yuletide with the intervention of Dangote Refinery.
The President of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlet Owners Association, PETROAN, Billy Gillis-Harry, and the spokesperson of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Chinedu Ukadike, disclosed this in separate interviews with DAILY POST on Monday.
This comes as Dangote Refinery on Sunday reduced its ex-depot petrol price by N20 to N970 from N990 per litre.
The company had explained that the move was to appreciate Nigerians for their support.
The development comes weeks after the refinery signed an agreement with Nigeria’s oil marketers on direct petrol purchase.
Reacting to the development, Gillis-Harry said the recent PMS price cut announced by Dangote Refinery will positively impact the petrol price for Nigerians.
According to him, the price of petrol may drop further by yuletide depending on crude oil prices and the Dangote refinery.
“It is good that the Dangote Premium Motor Spirit price has come down. This will impact heavily on the price of petrol for Nigerians.
“Definitely, the pump price will be reduced going forward. It is a good thing for players and Nigerians that the price of PMS is coming down.
“The price can even reduce further in the coming Yuletide. I can’t tell the exact price at the moment until the product is transported to our members’ filling stations nationwide.
“We, the PETROAN members, have always been optimistic that the price of PMS will be cheaper depending on the price of crude oil,” he told DAILY POST.
Similarly, Ukadike hinted at a cheaper petrol price in the coming Yuletide.
He explained that the recent price cut by Dangote Refinery means that fuel prices across IPMAN members’ filling stations will drop between N15 and N20 depending on the location.
According to him, in the past weeks, IPMAN members had reduced petrol prices from between N1200 and N1300 to N1100 and N1150 per litre.
Ukadike added that the cheapest petrol price Nigerians should expect by December 2024 should be between N900 and N1000 per litre.
“The reduction in the ex-depot prices of PMS at Dangote Refinery shows the market is now healthier. Instead of the price increasing, it is now decreasing.
“Based on the location, filling station outlets will reduce the petrol pump price by at least N15 to N20.
“Marketers have started reducing pump prices even before the Dangote Petrol price cut.
“Before, the price of petrol at IPMAN members retail outlets went for N1200 and N1300, but it has dropped to between N1100 and N1150 per litre.
“It is difficult to estimate. However, the cheapest price Nigerians should expect by December 2024 should be between N900 and N1000 per litre,” he told DAILY POST.
DAILY POST reports that Nigeria witnessed several fuel pump prices last month, which saw the product rise to between N1060 and N1150 per litre from N617 recorded in August 2024.
Recall that on Friday last week, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited had told oil marketers to halt petrol imports and concentrate on Dangote refinery.
THIS STORY FIRST APPEARED IN DAILY POST