The fierce competition in Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector has intensified, with several filling stations now selling petrol below the N739 per litre benchmark set by the Dangote Petroleum Refinery.
Since Dangote cut its pump price from about N900 to N739 in December, many importers and depot owners have been grappling with heavy losses. To stay in business, some marketers have been forced to sell below their costs, sparking a full-blown price war.
A market survey over the weekend showed that some stations are now offering petrol even cheaper than MRS Oil, Dangote’s key retail partner. As of Sunday, NIPCO sold PMS at N738 per litre, SAO at N735, Akiavic at N737, while an AP station beside an MRS outlet in Mowe, Ogun State, lowered its price to N736.
With competition tightening, stations in the same locations now closely track one another’s pump prices, as motorists flock to the outlets offering the cheapest fuel. Operators selling at higher rates are increasingly losing customers.
According to the Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria, the average landing cost of imported petrol stands at N762.38 per litre, while Dangote’s ex-gantry price is N699.
Despite this gap, importers have still slashed retail prices to remain competitive with Dangote-backed MRS outlets, even as both sides reportedly suffer billions of naira in losses.
An industry operator told The PUNCH that the aggressive price cuts are driven purely by competition, not by whether imported fuel is cheaper.
“This is simply a market strategy to protect market share. We are not at war with any marketer, depot operator or refinery,” the source said.
On December 12, Dangote shocked the market by slashing its gantry price from N828 to N699 per litre. Days later, Aliko Dangote accused some marketers of planning to keep prices high despite the reduction and vowed to enforce lower prices nationwide through MRS.
“We will use whatever resources we have to crash the price. For December and January, we don’t want petrol sold above N740 anywhere in Nigeria,” Dangote said.
As MRS stations in Lagos and Ogun began selling at N739, motorists deserted higher-priced outlets, leading to long queues at MRS locations. But the situation has since shifted, with other marketers now selling even cheaper than MRS.
The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) said those who refuse to cut prices risk losing customers and watching bank interest erode their capital.
“Price now determines patronage. The market will regulate itself. Wherever fuel is cheaper, that is where motorists will go,” IPMAN spokesman Chinedu Ukadike said.
Meanwhile, Dangote Refinery disclosed that PMS supply under its marketers’ arrangement began in October 2025 with 600 million litres, rising to 900 million litres in November and 1.5 billion litres in December.
Since December 16, it has loaded between 31 million and 48 million litres daily, depending on demand.
To widen access, the refinery reduced minimum purchase volumes from two million litres to 250,000 litres and introduced a 10-day credit facility backed by bank guarantees. It said these measures were designed to support smaller operators, boost liquidity and reduce dependence on imported fuel.
Dangote also attributed the surge in petrol imports in November to licensing approvals by the previous leadership of the petroleum regulator, insisting it had nothing to do with its own supply capacity. The refinery reaffirmed its commitment to steady supply, transparency and a competitive downstream market, saying its goal remains to strengthen domestic refining, conserve foreign exchange and keep fuel prices in check.
