Major oil marketers under the aegis of the Major Energies Association of Nigeria (MEMAN) have revealed a significant increase in the landing cost of imported petrol, which surged by N88 per litre within a week.
This comes amid heightened concerns over the importation and pricing of petroleum products in the country.
According to reports, MEMAN confirmed in its daily energy bulletin that the landing cost jumped from N797 per litre last week to N885 per litre this week.
The association attributes this increase to market forces in a deregulated environment.
The new landing cost surpasses the N860 per litre that end-user customers currently pay for petrol sourced from Dangote Refinery through MRS, other marketers, and Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited retail outlets.
This development follows Dangote Refinery’s recent announcement that it will no longer sell petrol in naira due to the suspension of the naira-for-crude policy by NNPC.
The refinery stated that the decision is temporary and aims to prevent a financial mismatch between its sales proceeds and crude oil purchase obligations, which are denominated in U.S. dollars.
In an official statement, Dangote Refinery clarified, “Our sales of petroleum products in naira have exceeded the value of naira-denominated crude we have received. As a result, we must temporarily adjust our sales currency to align with our crude procurement currency.”
The refinery also dismissed claims of halting operations due to ticketing fraud, describing such reports as “a malicious falsehood.”
The Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN) has strongly opposed Dangote Refinery’s move to sell refined petroleum products in dollars. The National President of PETROAN, Billy Gillis-Harry, warned that the decision could have severe economic consequences.
“PETROAN opposes the sale of petroleum products or any other products within Nigeria in dollars. This practice will put undue pressure on foreign exchange, worsen inflation, and harm the economy.”
He urged the Federal Government to intervene and mandate transactions in naira to protect the country’s economic stability.
