According to a management representative of the company, the Dangote Petroleum Refinery switched back to selling gasoline in naira because importers were allegedly holding back their supply.
The official told our correspondent that the refinery’s decision to stop selling fuel valued in dollars was not because the problem of the scarcity of crude oil had been fixed. He begged to be anonymous because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
He claimed that the reversal was made for the nation’s benefit in order to avoid fuel shortages and future price spikes. He claimed that the importers were purposefully holding back their inventory in case fuel costs increased.
The insider stated, “We saw that the importers were holding back their goods, looking for a price rise, so we decided to start selling Premium Motor Spirit in naira in the interest of the country.”
After a brief period of dollar-denominated pricing, the Dangote refinery recently started selling gasoline again in naira. Customers were notified by the refinery’s commercial department on Wednesday that the coastal price of petrol was N1,602,495 per metric tonne, while the gantry price was N1,215 per litre.
The refinery’s decision to sell gasoline in US dollars was reversed as a result of the development, which alarmed the downstream petroleum industry and caused the federal government to take extraordinary action.
It was previously reported that independent marketers stopped filling gasoline from the refinery once it started selling in dollars, claiming they were unable to obtain the foreign currency needed for the transactions.
The refinery had defended the ruling, stating that it was forced to switch to dollar sales since it was no longer getting enough crude oil under the Federal Government’s naira-for-crude program and had to purchase more crude in dollars from the global market.
The source went on to say that the Dangote Group was still in negotiations with the federal government and expressed optimism that if a deal was achieved, the government would behave honestly. He said, “We are still in negotiations with the government, but I hope they will be sincere.”
The Dangote official also expressed displeasure that many government officials favored bringing in refined petroleum products and exporting crude oil. “As you are aware, they prefer to import petroleum products and sell crude to traders abroad,” he said.
Despite being one of Africa’s top oil producers, Nigeria had long relied on imported gasoline prior to the Dangote refinery starting operations in 2024.
Nigerians were left to rely on petroleum importers since the nation’s refineries in Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna were non-operational. The contentious gasoline subsidy program and ongoing fuel shortages characterized the time.
The downstream industry grew more decentralized with the start of operations at the Dangote refinery. Long lines at gas stations were eliminated when the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited stopped paying implicit gasoline subsidies.
Recall that after the Dangote refinery briefly stopped loading at its gantry, several depot owners increased gasoline gantry costs to as high as N1,275 per litre last week.
Many depots lowered their pricing to stay competitive when the refinery announced a minimum price of N1,215 per litre. Petroleumprice.ng reports that depot prices on Sunday varied from N1,215 to N1,220 per litre.
In a similar vein, depending on the area, petrol pump prices currently range from N1,260 to N1,300 per litre. According to report, fresh tensions in the Middle East caused the price of gasoline to jump, which in turn raised the price of oil globally.
Global oil prices rose above $100 per barrel on Thursday for the first time in almost two months before ending at $96 per barrel on Friday. This was due to growing attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea, which increased concerns of protracted supply disruptions along important global energy routes.
