Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals has announced another reduction in the ex-depot price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), marking its fourth price cut within a month as the company continues to pass lower production costs to consumers despite still processing crude oil purchased at significantly higher international prices.

However, the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) warned that marketers would shut filling stations if the Federal Government attempts to regulate petrol prices, insisting that the downstream petroleum market is fully deregulated.

Dangote’s latest N50-per-litre reduction brings the cumulative decrease in the refinery’s PMS ex-depot price to N200 per litre since May 30, 2026, reducing the gantry price to 1,075. Over the same period, the refinery reduced the ex-depot price of Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) by N300 per litre and Jet A1 aviation fuel by N520 per litre.

The company said the successive reductions demonstrate its commitment to ensuring Nigerians benefit from favourable market developments while maintaining the long-term sustainability of domestic refining operations.

In a statement yesterday, the refinery explained that petroleum product pricing could not mirror daily movements in international crude oil markets because crude is purchased weeks, and sometimes months, before it is processed.

According to the refinery, the petroleum products being supplied to the market are being produced from crude inventories acquired during periods of substantially higher prices.

It disclosed that the average landed cost of crude processed stood at approximately $124.80 per barrel in May and $95.25 per barrel in June, compared with the present international benchmark of about $71.01 per barrel.

The company expressed confidence that if international crude prices remain favourable and lower-cost feedstock continues to replace higher-priced inventories, Nigerians should expect further moderation in petroleum product prices.
IPMAN’S National Publicity Secretary, Chinedu Ukadike, in a statement yesterday, urged the government to focus on ensuring local refineries operate efficiently and encourage competition instead of imposing price controls.

“As I advised, the government should concentrate on ensuring our refineries are working and allow more sources of supply instead of talking about regulation in a deregulated economy. If they do that, marketers will protest and shut down their filling stations,” Ukadike said.

He also said petrol prices would continue to decline in line with market forces, dismissing claims that marketers were profiteering from the recent drop in global crude oil prices.

The spokesperson said competition among marketers would naturally force prices lower, as consumers would patronise outlets offering cheaper products.

Ukadike dismissed allegations that marketers were holding on to expensive stock or profiteering at consumers’ expense.

“So, we don’t have an iota of trying to profiteer in line with the statements that we reacted to. There is no profiteering. There is no hoarding. That’s the standard principle of monetisation,” he said. “The more we buy cheaper, the more we sell cheaper.”

The IPMAN spokesperson acknowledged that petrol prices had begun to decline, but argued that expectations of a significant reduction overlooked the pricing realities in the supply chain.

His comments came after the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) accused marketers of failing to pass on the benefits of lower global crude oil prices to consumers, saying recent reductions in pump prices are not commensurate with the sharp decline in crude prices.

The criticism followed a decline in international oil prices after tensions in the Middle East eased.

Also weighing in on the issue, the National President of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), Billy Gillis-Harry, urged refiners, depot owners and importers to reduce ex-depot and retail prices to reflect lower crude prices.