LAGOS, Nigeria — Independent and major oil marketers have expressed strong dissatisfaction with Dangote Petroleum Refinery’s ₦75 price reduction on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), describing the adjustment as insufficient to alleviate the severe energy costs squeezing Nigerian consumers.
The refinery officially adjusted its ex-gantry price downward from ₦1,250 to ₦1,175 per litre, with the revised template taking effect at midnight on Tuesday, June 16, 2026.
Okay News reports that the 650,000 barrels-per-day facility in Lekki tied the price drop to a sharp correction in the international energy market. Global oil benchmarks retreated rapidly following a historic framework agreement between the United States and Iran, which effectively de-escalated a three-month conflict in the Middle East and triggered the reopening of the strategic Strait of Hormuz. International benchmark Brent crude, which had spiked above $120 per barrel during the hostilities, crashed back toward the $80 range, prompting Dangote to reprice its gantry rates and cut its coastal supply price from ₦1,595,790 to ₦1,495,215 per metric tonne.
Despite the concession, downstream dealers claim the reduction does not match the scale of the recent price hikes. Marketers noted that while retail pump prices aggressively shot up from an average of ₦830 per litre to nearly ₦1,300 per litre during the global oil crisis, the refinery’s modest 6 percent drop at the depot level fails to offer equivalent relief. Independent depot operators across Lagos—including A.A. Rano, Aiteo, and Rainoil—have already adjusted their wholesale rates to ₦1,180 per litre to maintain market share, sparking a localized price war.
Amid growing calls for a more substantial price drop, the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has urged its members to remain patient and avoid panic hoarding. IPMAN leadership explained that because many dealers are currently stuck holding vast, unloaded inventories purchased at the previous, more expensive rates, immediate retail pump cuts will be slow to materialize across the federation. While energy analysts project that pump prices could eventually tumble toward ₦900 per litre if the global crude slump persists, refinery officials have cautioned that large volumes of raw feedstock acquired at peak wartime costs will likely slow down the pace of further domestic fuel cuts.
