Petrol marketers have reduced their pump prices to levels below what is being offered by the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).
This move has triggered deel competition in the fuel market, even as Dangote continues to urge the Federal Government to ban fuel importation to protect local refining.
Findings across Lagos and Ogun States show that some filling stations now sell petrol for less than ₦860 per litre.
For instance, SGR station in Ogun offered petrol at ₦847 on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, stations associated with Dangote, such as MRS and Heyden, sell between ₦865 and ₦875 per litre.
Depot prices have also dropped, with some marketers offering petrol at ₦815 per litre, while Dangote’s refinery maintains a price of ₦820.
NNPC, which had previously sold at ₦895 per litre, has recently reduced its price to ₦890 across several of its retail outlets in Abuja as of Wednesday, July 23.
Importers said these price cuts are aimed at staying competitive after facing losses when Dangote began regular price reductions earlier this year.
They maintained that the ongoing adjustments are a result of market liberalisation, which allows multiple players to set prices freely.
While Dangote blamed cheap imports for disrupting the local refining business and called it unfair competition, marketers argued that banning fuel imports would hurt the open market structure.
Dangote also raised alarms over the alleged influx of low-quality fuel, especially from Russia, claiming it undermines local operations that rely on full crude pricing.
Despite this, importers continue to adjust prices to attract buyers and stay in business, widening the gap between pump prices offered by private depots, Dangote Refinery, and NNPCL.
The back-and-forth between local refiners and importers is expected to continue as both sides push for favourable policies in the evolving fuel market.
