Dangote Refinery has reduced the depot price of Automotive Gas Oil (AGO), popularly known as diesel, by N200 per litre, intensifying competition in Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector.
Gatekeepers News reports that the latest adjustment lowers the refinery’s diesel price from N1,800 to N1,600 per litre. The reduction comes only days after several vessels carrying imported petroleum products reportedly arrived at Nigerian ports.
The development follows ongoing tensions between Dangote Refinery and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) over the issuance of import licences to petroleum marketers.
Dangote Refinery had recently taken legal action against the NMDPRA for granting five companies licences to import petroleum products into the country.
Industry observers say the timing of the diesel price cut is strategic, noting that the new N1,600 per litre rate is reportedly below the current landing cost of imported diesel recently brought into Nigeria by marketers.
Analysts believe the move is aimed at undercutting imported products and strengthening Dangote Refinery’s position in the domestic market.
Reacting to the development, the National Public Relations Officer of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), Dr Joseph Obele, described the price reduction as a positive outcome of healthy market competition.
“All hail competition and say no to monopoly in the petroleum industry. The more the competition, the better prices consumers will enjoy,” Obele said in Lagos on Wednesday.
He added that increased rivalry in the downstream oil sector is already translating into lower fuel prices for consumers across the country.
According to Obele, the diesel price cut represents one of the sharpest single reductions recorded since the deregulation of Nigeria’s petroleum sector, signalling a fresh phase of pricing competition between local refiners and fuel importers.
