As competition among suppliers in the downstream sector increased, the average price of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) at private depots and the Dangote Refinery decreased somewhat on Tuesday to ₦880.5 per litre from ₦881.5.
The ex-depot price of major private depot operators, such as Matrix, A.Y.M. Shafa, and Sigmund Zamson, which mostly operate in Warri, Delta State, and Calabar, Cross River State, was lowered from ₦890 to ₦889 per litre.
Similarly, Pinnacle Oil and Gas kept its price at ₦872 per litre, while the Dangote Petroleum Refinery changed its gantry price to ₦872 per litre, a ₦1 decrease from its prior cost of ₦873 per litre.
As the market structure continues to be reshaped by deregulation, suppliers are increasingly competing on price.
Last Monday, the Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria (MEMAN) set the landing cost of gasoline at ₦829.77 per litre, which is 5.69% less than the previous gantry rate of ₦877 per litre at the Dangote Refinery.
Retail rates at filling stations in Lagos, such as MRS, Ardova, and NNPC Limited outlets, continued to range between ₦920 and ₦922 per litre despite the downward revision at depots, indicating that customers had not yet seen the impact of the price reduction.
Vanguard reports that the naira was trading at ₦1,443.77 per dollar on the black market as of Tuesday, which is the reason for the tardy reaction at the pump to foreign exchange difficulties.
MEMAN clarified in its most recent Energy Bulletin, which was posted on its website, that variations in the Brent crude benchmark, which is now trading at $67.02 a barrel, had an impact on the price changes.
According to MEMAN, “the spot prices were ₦815.38 (ASPM) and ₦815.40 (NPSC-NOJ) per litre, while the average 30-day report for PMS stood at ₦829.77 per litre.”
“During the same period, Aviation Turbine Kerosene (ATK) recorded ₦962.53 per litre, while Diesel (AGO) averaged ₦974.50 per litre.”
Market Competition Is Driven by Deregulation
In response, Mazi Colman Obasi, National President of the Oil and Gas Service Providers Association of Nigeria (OGSPAN), stated in an interview with Vanguard that the price changes are a reflection of the realities of a deregulated market.
“The downstream sector has been deregulated, and competition should be expected,” stated Obasi. It is anticipated that domestic customers will have more options as a result of competition.
