Dangote supply halt pushes Nigerian ex-depot petrol price to N1,220
Nigerian fuel marketers have suspended purchases after Dangote Refinery halted petrol loading, pushing ex-depot prices to N1,220 per litre and threatening retail supply chains.
Independent petroleum marketers in Nigeria have stopped buying petrol after Dangote Refinery abruptly suspended loadings, pushing ex-depot prices in Lagos to N1,220 per litre. The halt, which began about four days ago without prior notice, has forced distributors to rely on costly private depots. Consequently, many filling stations have exhausted their stock and closed.
Private depot operators like Nipco and Aiteo are now charging between N1,200 and N1,220 per litre, excluding transportation. “Since Dangote Refinery stopped selling PMS about four days ago, private depot owners have increased their prices,” said Chief Oyewole Akanni, Western Zonal Chairman of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN). He noted that only a few marketers are currently buying product due to the resulting price volatility.
The supply shock has created a market standoff as retailers wait to see if prices will stabilize or climb further once Dangote resumes operations. “The major issue now is the fluctuation in depot prices, which has created uncertainty in the market,” Akanni said. Four truckloads of petrol meant for his own stations remain stranded at the Dangote facility, where he noted the company's own trucks are also parked.
The operational disruption extends beyond independent distributors. The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.), which also sources petrol from the Dangote Refinery, faces similar supply constraints. Akanni urged consumers against panic buying, stating, “There is no fuel scarcity, members of the public should not panic,” but cautioned that retail pump prices will inevitably increase if the loading standstill persists.
The pricing turbulence follows a structural shift in Dangote's sales strategy. Last week, the refinery abandoned naira-denominated pricing, instead fixing its ex-depot rate at $0.779 per litre under a new dollar-based framework. At the official exchange rate of N1,380.50 to the dollar, this benchmark translates to roughly N1,075.61 per litre, matching a reduction implemented on July 2.
That July 2 price cut was a response to declining global crude prices, a dynamic that has since shifted dramatically. The resumption of the U.S.-Iran conflict has driven Brent crude to nearly $90 per barrel. For investors and market operators, the dollar-pegged pricing model means local fuel costs are now tightly coupled to international geopolitical shocks, stripping away the buffer previously provided by naira-denominated contracts and compressing retailer margins.
