NNPCL raises petrol price to N915 in Abuja, N945 in Lagos

The pump price of Premium Motor Spirit, commonly referred to as gasoline, was raised to N945 per litre in the Federal Capital Territory on Monday by retail establishments operated by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.

Additionally, it raised the price of gasoline at numerous of its retail locations in Lagos to ₦915 per liter, signaling a new increasing trend in the downstream retail sector.

From the previous costs of N870 and N910 per liter, the most recent hike represents a new spike of N45 and N35 in Lagos and Abuja, respectively.

Days before, the Dangote Petroleum Refinery raised the ex-depot price of gasoline from N825 to N880 per liter, causing a reaction from the entire sector.

The new pricing, which was applied to a number of NNPC-owned filling stations, our correspondent noted, increased the financial burden on customers who were already struggling with high living and transportation expenses.

Similar changes were observed at the state-owned mega station along Obasanjo Way, while the new price of N945 per litre was prominently advertised at the NNPC retail outlet in the Federal Housing neighborhood of Kubwa, Abuja.

The updated N915 per litre cost was mirrored at stations in Igando and along the Badagry Expressway in Lagos.

Private retail establishments also showed the ripple effect. The Dangote refinery's key partner, MRS Filling Stations, increased pump rates in Lagos from N875 to N925 per litre.

Other marketers, such as Oluwafemi Arowolo Petroleum in Iba, upped prices to N920 per litre, while TotalEnergies followed suit with a new price of N910.

Citing escalating upstream costs and global crude prices, depot sources verified that major supply hubs in Lagos, such as Wosbab, Pinnacle, and NIPCO, have now set PMS ex-depot rates between N920 and N925 per liter as of June 23.

Analysts predict that crude oil prices may soon surpass the $80 per barrel barrier as a result of the ongoing unrest in the global oil market caused by the growing confrontation between the United States and Iran. Fears of supply disruptions have been heightened by an airstrike on Iranian nuclear sites over the weekend that was purportedly carried out by US-Israeli forces.

Independent merchants are worried about this trend and have cautioned that, if nothing is done quickly, rising global oil costs and a declining value of the naira might cause petrol prices to surpass N1,000 per litre in the upcoming weeks.

"With the present market trend, private depots are expected to raise the price of gasoline to N1,000 in the next days," said Olatide Jeremiah, CEO of PetroleumPrice.ng. Nigerians would pay N1,000 at depots if the price of crude rose to $80 or higher by tomorrow morning.

“The situation means they will take advantage of Nigerians, but we can only hope that Dangote maintains its current price, that is the only way depot owners won’t jack up the price anyhow. The price surge seen last week was basically because Dangote stopped selling for some days. But it has opened up its portal and is now selling at N880 for two million litres. Dangote remains a major determinant of petrol price.”

Inflationary pressures are anticipated to be exacerbated by the frequent upward adjustments, with households, businesses, and commuters suffering the most from a deregulated but unstable petroleum market.