Dangote Petroleum Refinery has resumed accepting naira payments for Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), reversing its brief shift to dollar-denominated sales and ending about a week of disruption that unsettled Nigeria’s downstream petroleum market. The move follows the refinery’s announcement of a new ex-depot price of ₦1,215 per litre, up from the previous implied naira equivalent of about ₦1,075 per litre under its $0.779-per-litre pricing template.
The refinery’s return to naira transactions removes the immediate need for marketers to source foreign exchange before lifting products, easing a major operational constraint that emerged after dollar pricing was introduced. The earlier switch had raised concerns across the downstream sector over liquidity pressures, product availability and the potential impact on retail fuel prices.
Despite the relief provided by the return to naira sales, the higher ex-depot price is expected to keep pressure on fuel costs. During the temporary suspension of naira sales, supply tightened and prices at private depots climbed to around ₦1,200–₦1,230 per litre, suggesting that the refinery’s revised pricing largely reflects prevailing market conditions rather than creating an entirely new benchmark.
Industry analysts say the increase could eventually filter through to higher pump prices, depending on marketers’ operating costs, transportation expenses and competitive dynamics across the deregulated downstream market. Higher fuel costs also have broader implications for inflation, as increased transport and logistics expenses often feed into the prices of food and other consumer goods.
The latest pricing adjustment also highlights the continued influence of international crude oil prices and exchange-rate movements on domestic fuel costs. Although local refining has reduced Nigeria’s reliance on imported petroleum products, production costs remain closely linked to global crude prices and foreign exchange conditions.
Market participants say the resumption of naira sales provides greater certainty for marketers and may help stabilise product supply in the near term. However, they note that sustained stability will depend on consistent crude supply to domestic refiners under the Federal Government’s naira-for-crude framework, exchange-rate stability and adequate market competition.
For consumers, the return to naira transactions offers reassurance over product availability, but the higher ex-depot price suggests that expectations of significantly cheaper petrol from domestic refining may remain constrained by prevailing market fundamentals.
