A number of filling stations have lowered the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit below the N739 per litre standard suggested by the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, intensifying competitiveness in Nigeria's downstream petroleum industry.

Importers and depot owners have complained of significant financial losses after the Dangote refinery decided in December to cut petrol prices from roughly N900 to N739 per litre. In order to stay relevant in the fiercely competitive market, several operators were forced to sell petrol at rates lower than their landing costs due to declining margins.

Some retail establishments currently dispense PMS at prices lower than those of MRS Oil, the main partner approved by the Dangote refinery to lead the implementation of the N739 per litre price drop, according to a weekend study done by The PUNCH.

As of Sunday, the price of petrol was N738 per litre at NIPCO stations, N735 at SAO filling stations and N737 at Akiavic. In Mowe, Ogun State, an AP filling station next to an MRS store lowered its pump price to N736 per litre.

The Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria said that the average landing cost of petrol was N762.38 per litre, while the ex-gantry price at the Dangote refinery was still N699 per litre. In an effort to compete with MRS outlets supported by Dangote, importers continued to lower their retail prices notwithstanding this margin.

According to earlier reports, the aggressive pricing environment was causing losses for both Dangote and petroleum importers that were anticipated to reach billions of naira.

According to operators who spoke with our correspondent, the necessity to maintain market share in a fiercely competitive environment drove the decrease in pump pricing rather than whether imported petrol was less expensive.

“This is not a function of whether imports are better or not, but simply a market strategy to get a good share of the market. However, it needs to be stressed that we are not at war with any marketer or depot operator nor any refinery,” an operator, who requested anonymity due to the stiff competition in the downstream sector, told The PUNCH.

On December 12, the Dangote refinery startled depot owners and marketers by cutting the gantry price of petrol by N129, from N828 to N699 per litre.

Shortly after, the President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, disclosed that he had received information suggesting that some marketers planned to maintain high pump prices despite the reduction. He subsequently pledged to enforce the new pricing structure, with MRS selling petrol at N739 per litre nationwide.

“We are going to use whatever resources we have to make sure that we crash the price down. For December and January, we don’t want people to sell petrol for more than N740 nationwide. Those who want to keep the price high to sabotage the government, we will fight as much as we can to make sure that these prices are down. If you have money to come and buy, you can pick up petrol at N699,” Dangote said.

As more MRS filling stations in Lagos and Ogun states started selling Dangote refinery petrol at N739 per litre, drivers left shops that were charging higher prices, according to an earlier PUNCH story. Fuel lines at MRS gas stations in Lagos and other places were caused by this change.

Recent events, however, indicate that this tendency is reversing, with a number of gas stations now offering cheaper prices than MRS stores.

Chinedu Ukadike, a spokesman for the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, cautioned that if marketers don't change their rates, they run the risk of losing clients and having their funds eroded by bank interest charges.

“We are in a situation where competition can be determined by price. Patronage will be determined by pricing. Nobody is against you; nobody is regulating you. You will regulate yourself. The market will regulate itself. The time has gone when people were queuing at NNPC filling stations. Wherever the fuel is cheap, that is where the marketers go. So, we are in a price war. Demand and supply determine the price,” Ukadike said.

He added that once Dangote reduced the gantry price to N699 per litre, marketers were compelled to adopt competitive pricing to retain customers, warning that failure to do so would result in interest charges from banks consuming their capital.

Findings by our correspondent indicate that many filling stations across the country now sell petrol below N800 per litre as the price competition continues.

Meanwhile, the Dangote refinery, in a statement issued over the weekend, disclosed that supply under the marketers’ arrangement commenced in October 2025 with an agreed offtake volume of 600 million litres of PMS. This volume was increased to 900 million litres in November and further expanded to 1.5 billion litres in December.

“In line with market growth and absorption capacity, volumes were scaled up accordingly. Subsequently, and in line with downstream market liberalisation, we opened PMS supply to all qualified marketers, bulk consumers, and filling station operators,” the statement signed by the Group Chief Branding and Communications Officer, Anthony Chiejina, read.

According to the refinery, depending on market demand, it has continuously loaded between 31 million and 48 million litres of PMS per day from its gantry since December 16, 2025. It stated that depot and loading records kept under regular regulatory supervision can be used to verify these numbers.

The refinery claimed to have implemented measures like lowering the minimum purchase volumes from two million litres to 250,000 litres and offering a 10-day credit facility backed by bank guarantees in order to increase participation and improve distribution efficiency.

The refinery claims that these programs are intended to increase liquidity, assist small and medium-sized businesses, and lessen reliance on imported petroleum. It further stated that the greater use of locally refined PMS and more competitive retail pricing, with domestic products priced much lower than imported alternatives, are results of the expanded access framework.

The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority's previous leadership approved import licensing, "which sanctioned volumes beyond prevailing domestic demand," according to the Dangote refinery, which addressed the November spike in petrol imports.

The refinery stressed that the rise in imports had nothing to do with its operational capabilities or its supply obligations.

The Dangote refinery reaffirmed its commitment to openness, steady supply, and the methodical expansion of a competitive downstream petroleum market. It pledged to continue collaborating with regulators and industry partners to boost domestic refining, protect foreign exchange, stabilise prices, and strengthen Nigeria's long-term energy security.