The Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals has announced a fresh reduction in the ex-depot price of petrol, bringing the cost down to N865 per litre. This adjustment follows swiftly on the heels of the Federal Government’s confirmation of the full implementation of its Naira-for-Crude initiative, which had previously experienced delays.
A senior executive from the Dangote Group confirmed to Nairametrics that the refinery had revised the petrol price from the N880 per litre it had sold for on Wednesday, trimming N15 off the cost. The refinery, a $20 billion facility, officially communicated the price cut to its marketers and customers on Thursday.
Retail partners such as MRS Oil and Gas, Ardova, Heyden, among others, are expected to align their pump prices with the revised ex-depot rate, prompting a likely marginal decrease in the cost of petrol at fuel stations across Nigeria.
This development aligns with the Federal Government’s reaffirmed commitment to the Crude and Refined Product Sales in Naira initiative, a policy aimed at reducing the nation’s foreign exchange burden and strengthening long-term energy security. Officials have clarified that the programme is not a stopgap solution but a strategic, long-term intervention.
During a high-level meeting of the Technical Sub-Committee overseeing the policy’s execution, the government reviewed progress and addressed challenges in implementation. The session was led by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun, who also chairs the Implementation Committee. He was joined by Mr Zacch Adedeji, Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and head of the Technical Sub-Committee.
The meeting also brought together key figures from the oil and gas sector, including the Chief Financial Officer of NNPC Limited, Mr Dapo Segun, along with representatives from NNPC Refineries, NNPC Trading, Dangote Refinery, and regulatory authorities such as the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), and a delegate from Afreximbank.
Just days earlier, oil marketers had raised the pump price of petrol to between N930 and N970 per litre, a sharp increase from the previous N865 per litre. This spike followed reports indicating an N88 increase in the landing cost of imported fuel within a week, attributed to heightened levels of petrol importation.
On 19 March 2025, the Dangote Refinery announced a halt in the domestic supply of petrol priced in naira, following the suspension of the Naira-for-Crude arrangement by the NNPC. The company explained that the move was necessary “to avoid a mismatch between our sales proceeds and our crude oil purchase obligations, which are currently denominated in U.S. dollars.”
The NNPC later issued a clarification, denying that it had cancelled the agreement with Dangote and other local refiners. Instead, it revealed that the initial six-month contract for the crude sale in naira had simply expired at the end of March 2025 and was subject to availability