The global surge in crude oil past $100 per barrel, driven by Middle East supply disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and Red Sea, has triggered an immediate recalibration across Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector.
Because crude remains a globally traded commodity priced in US Dollars, local refining does not insulate domestic fuel from international benchmark swings.
To align with these higher international feedstock procurement costs, the Dangote Petroleum Refinery ended its brief suspension of local sales and resumed gantry loading in Naira, elevating its ex-depot price from ₦1,075 to ₦1,215 per litre, a 13% increase. Private depots have mirrored this upward movement, with facilities like the Bulk Strategic Reserve in Lagos raising ex-depot rates up to ₦1,350 per litre.
Consequently, retail pump prices nationwide are adjusting to absorb these elevated gantry rates alongside logistics, transport, and regional distribution markups.
Major urban hubs like Lagos and Abuja are seeing pump prices settle between ₦1,300 and ₦1,400 per litre, while inland and northern locations face projections reaching ₦1,420 to ₦1,550 per litre.
This fresh inflationary pressure on transport, cold chain logistics, and food distribution comes even as higher crude export values provide a revenue boost to the federal budget.
