The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) is preparing to implement a fresh pricing model for petrol after recently lifting approximately 103 million litres from Dangote Refinery between September 15 and 30, 2024.

 

This information was shared with Timeless Update by individuals familiar with the situation.

 

During this period, the refinery was able to load 2,207 out of 3,621 trucks dispatched, which carried a total of 102,973,025 litres out of the planned 400 million litres of petrol, allocated for lifting at a daily rate of 25 million litres.

 

Records reviewed by Timeless Update show this accounted for just 26 percent of the anticipated output.

 

NNPC commenced its lifting operations from Dangote Refinery on September 15 as the exclusive off-taker of the product.

 

On the same day, NNPC revealed it was purchasing petrol from the refinery at ₦898.78 per litre and selling it to marketers at ₦765.99 per litre, subsidizing the product by about ₦133 per litre.

 

As deliveries from Dangote Refinery make their way to stations across the country, NNPC hinted that petrol prices would rise to reflect depot sale rates, transportation expenses, statutory charges, and regional distribution challenges.

 

Nevertheless, over the past month, petrol pump prices at NNPC stations across Nigeria have fluctuated between ₦855 and ₦897, depending on location.

 

With NNPC’s imported petrol reserves nearing depletion and increased reliance on supplies from Dangote Refinery, sources have warned of an inevitable price hike.

 

Earlier, the company’s pricing template on September 16 showed that once costs were considered, petrol prices would reach ₦950.22 per litre at its Lagos stations, ₦980.22 in Rivers State, and ₦992.22 in Abuja.

 

The same template projected that the cost would hit ₦999.22 in the North-West geopolitical zone, while prices in Borno and the North-East could rise to ₦1,019 per litre.

 

In the South-East, petrol was estimated to cost ₦980.22, and in the South-West states (Oyo, Ogun, Ekiti, Osun, Ondo), consumers were expected to pay ₦960.22 per litre.

 

However, company sources stated that the September 16 estimates are now outdated due to fluctuations in the foreign exchange market and rising crude prices amid increasing Middle East tensions.

 

“With crude now priced above $78 per barrel as of Sunday and the naira trading at ₦1,660 to a dollar, there is no possibility petrol will sell for less than ₦1,350 per litre in Nigeria,” the official said.

 

On September 3, NNPC raised the pump price of petrol from ₦617 per litre to between ₦855 and ₦897, depending on the location.