Fuel Price Jumps to N1,345/Litre in Abuja as Global Crude Costs Surge

Petrol prices have risen again at filling stations nationwide after the Dangote Petroleum Refinery increased its ex-depot (gantry) price for the third time in nine days, pushing pump prices higher in Abuja, Lagos and other cities.

The refinery raised its Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) gantry price by N65 to N1,265 per litre on August 29, according to marketers, bringing the total increase to roughly N100 per litre since August 20. The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and independent marketers, including MRS, Ranoil and Empire Energy, followed with fresh pump price adjustments.

In Abuja, NNPCL stations raised pump prices to N1,345 per litre, up N75 from N1,270, while other marketers in the capital moved their prices to between N1,310 and N1,320 per litre.

Industry sources link the increases to a rise in international crude oil prices, which climbed above $90 per barrel amid heightened US-Iran military tension around the Strait of Hormuz, a key global oil shipping route. Since Dangote Refinery’s pricing has increasingly set the benchmark for the domestic market, upward movements in its gantry price tend to filter quickly to pump prices across the country, including in Oyo State.

Neither the Dangote Refinery nor NNPCL has issued a public statement explaining the latest round of increases. However, the refinery has in recent weeks also begun supplying petrol directly to marketers in six states without charging distribution fees, a move it has presented as part of efforts to stabilise supply.

For motorists and transport operators in Ibadan, the latest increase is expected to feed through to commercial transport fares and, in turn, to the cost of moving goods and food to markets across the state, compounding pressure on household budgets already strained by the year’s earlier price movements.

WHAT THIS MEANS

Every increase in the refinery gantry price typically reaches Nigerian motorists within days, since most marketers adjust pump prices to protect their margins. Commuters in Ibadan and across Oyo State should expect commercial transport fares to rise in the coming days, and businesses that rely on road haulage — including traders at Bodija and other major markets — may see higher costs passed on to consumers. Motorists are advised to compare prices across filling stations, as gaps between NNPCL and independent marketer prices have widened with each recent adjustment.