Price competition between Private fuel depots and Dangote petroluem refinery has intensified.

Checks show that most depots are now selling petrol at prices lower than Dangote Refinery.

Filling station owners and companies buying in large quantities now have to make a choice where to buy petrol from.

Private fuel depots across Nigeria are selling petrol at prices lower than the Dangote Petroleum Refinery.

Checks revealed that the average ex-depot price at major private depots has dropped to between N872 and N875 per litre, down from the previous average of N900.

The new rate at several depots is lower than Dangote refinery’s current price of N877 per litre.

The changes are seen at Aiteo, Pinnacle, Rainoil, Emadeb, Eterna, Ardova, Nipco, and Integrated Oil.

The ex-depot price reduction is expected to determine how much Nigerians pay for petrol in the coming days.

According to Petroleumprice.ng, private depots have become “noticeably busier” than Dangote’s plant, which has recorded slower activity since launching its N877 per litre pilot scheme earlier this month.

The pilot framework, a temporary supply arrangement jointly developed by Dangote Refinery and a coalition of 20 depot owners, began on October 10 and is set to end on Friday, October 31, 2025.

The initiative, covering about 600 million litres of petrol, followed a high-level meeting between Aliko Dangote and key downstream operators, including Salbas Energy, Optima Energy, Shafa, and Rano.

While the scheme was designed to stabilize prices, it has created new market competition.

Depot owners have responded to Dangote’s scheme and decided to slash their ex-depot prices to attract marketers.

A depot operator in Satellite Town, Lagos, said the renewed market activity has been encouraging.

“We are happy now, the place is much busier than before. Trucks are loading again, and retailers are coming back.”

Market analysts believe this resurgence reflects growing confidence in private depots as they resume active importation after weeks of slow operations.

They note that while Dangote remains a dominant player, private depots are using pricing flexibility and strong customer networks to stay relevant.

Experts, however, caution that sustaining these lower prices may be difficult.

President Bola Tinubu has approved a 15% import duty on petrol and Automotive Gas Oil (AGO), commonly known as diesel.

ThisDay reports that the new duty will be applied to the cost, insurance, and freight (CIF) value of imported fuels.

This means that imported petrol will now be more expensive, giving Dangote refinery an edge over depots in the race to win customers.

Earlier, Legit reported that Dangote Refinery has announced Optima Energy as its latest partner for the sale of petrol across the country.

The new marketer has now increased the number of partnerships available for Dangote Refinery petrol to four

Optima Energy joins MRS Nigeria, Ardova PLC, and Hyden as the other partners working directly with Dangote to sell affordable fuel.

President Bola Tinubu has given the green light for the implementation of a 15 per cent ad-valorem import duty on petrol and diesel brought into Nigeria — a move expected to protect domestic refineries and promote stability in the downstream oil sector.

In a directive dated October 21, 2025 — made public on October 30 — Tinubu ordered the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to immediately begin enforcing the tariff. The decision, according to the government, forms part of a new “market-responsive import tariff framework.”

The letter, signed by the president’s private secretary, Damilotun Aderemi, confirmed Tinubu’s approval of a proposal submitted by FIRS Chairman Zacch Adedeji. The plan recommends a 15 per cent duty on the cost, insurance, and freight (CIF) value of imported petrol and diesel to reflect true market conditions and encourage local production.

Adedeji explained in his memo that the initiative was designed to support Nigeria’s “Renewed Hope Agenda” for energy security and economic stability.

“The core objective of this initiative is to operationalize crude transactions in local currency, strengthen local refining capacity, and ensure a stable, affordable supply of petroleum products across Nigeria,” Adedeji stated.

The FIRS boss cautioned that the disparity between locally refined fuel prices and import parity benchmarks has fueled market volatility.

“While domestic refining of petrol has begun to increase and diesel sufficiency has been achieved, price instability persists, partly due to the misalignment between local refiners and marketers,” he wrote.

He pointed out that import parity pricing often falls below cost recovery levels for domestic refiners, especially amid foreign exchange and freight fluctuations — a situation that threatens the viability of emerging local producers.

He added that the government now faces a “twofold” responsibility “to protect consumers and domestic producers from unfair pricing practices and collusion, while ensuring a level playing field for refiners to recover costs and attract investments.”

According to him, the new tariff system will prevent duty-free fuel imports from undermining local refineries and promote a fair, competitive downstream sector.

At current CIF levels, this represents an increment of approximately 99.72 per litre, which nudges imported landed costs toward local cost-recovery without choking supply or inflating consumer prices beyond sustainable thresholds. Even with this adjustment, estimated Lagos pump prices would remain in the range of N964.72 per litre ($0.62), still significantly below regional averages such as Senegal ($1.76 per litre), Cote d’Ivoire ($1.52 per litre), and Ghana ($1.37 per litre),” the letter read.

The decision aligns with Nigeria’s broader efforts to cut reliance on imported petroleum products and increase domestic refining output.

The 650,000 barrels-per-day Dangote Refinery in Lagos has begun producing diesel and aviation fuel, while modular refineries in Edo, Rivers, and Imo states are conducting small-scale petrol refining.

Despite these developments, imported petrol still meets around 67 per cent of Nigeria’s total consumption.

The House of Representatives has approved President Bola Tinubu’s request to secure a $2.35 billion loan to help finance the 2025 budget deficit, despite growing concerns over Nigeria’s rising debt profile.

The House also granted approval for the issuance of a $500 million sovereign sukuk on the international capital market to support infrastructure development and broaden the country’s funding sources.

The lawmakers reached the decision after reviewing the report of the Committee on Aids, Loans, and Debt Management.

This development comes amid heightened debate regarding Nigeria’s escalating debt burden.

As of the first quarter of 2025, the nation’s total debt stood at ₦149.39 trillion, up from ₦121.7 trillion in the corresponding period of the previous year.

In September 2025, Speaker of the House, Tajudeen Abbas, warned that Nigeria’s debt levels had reached a critical point.

However, the Presidency has maintained that the current administration is borrowing responsibly.