By Rita Amaechi
National News – Dangote Petroleum Refinery has officially transitioned to dollar-denominated sales of refined petroleum products, ending its naira pricing regime for Premium Motor Spirit (petrol), diesel and aviation fuel.
The new pricing structure, which took effect on Monday, fixes the ex-depot price of petrol at $0.779 per litre, diesel at $1.087 per litre, and Aviation Turbine Kerosene at $0.942 per litre. Coastal deliveries of petrol have also been priced at $1,044.62 per metric tonne.
The refinery announced the changes in a notice to petroleum marketers and customers, stating that all previously issued naira-denominated Proforma Invoices and Deal Recaps for gantry and coastal transactions are no longer valid.
According to the notice, all payments for the affected products will now be made in United States dollars, following an earlier notification issued on July 9 regarding the planned transition.
However, the refinery clarified that the new policy does not apply to Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), which will continue under its existing payment arrangement.
The move effectively ends the naira payment system introduced after the Federal Government’s naira-for-crude initiative began on October 1, 2024. The policy had enabled local refiners to purchase crude oil in naira to reduce pressure on foreign exchange demand and support domestic refining.
Industry sources attributed the latest decision to an increasing mismatch between the currency used to purchase crude oil and the currency used to sell refined products.
According to the sources, Dangote Refinery now receives a larger proportion of its crude supplies from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) under dollar-based agreements, while much of its refined products had continued to be sold in naira.
They explained that the imbalance exposed the refinery to foreign exchange risks, particularly amid volatile global crude oil prices and fluctuations in the naira exchange rate.
One source said the refinery considered it necessary to adopt a uniform pricing framework to align its product sales with the currency used in sourcing a significant portion of its crude oil.
The transition is expected to have significant implications for petroleum marketers who depend on Dangote Refinery for nationwide fuel distribution. Analysts say the development could also influence pump prices across the country, depending on exchange rates, international crude oil prices, transportation costs and marketers’ operating expenses.
Dangote Refinery has become Nigeria’s largest supplier of refined petroleum products since commencing operations, making its pricing decisions a key factor in the country’s deregulated downstream petroleum market.
