Three operators – Dangote Petroleum Refinery, Aiteo and AA Rano – weekend, adjusted the depot prices of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol to N823 per litre from N821 per litre as crude oil rises to $67 per barrel from $65 per barrel in the international market.
Dangote Petroleum Refinery, Aiteo and Rano had previously sold the product at N821 per litre.
Checks by Vanguard yesterday indicated that the domestic market would continue to respond to global changes due to competition in Nigeria’s downstream sector.
The checks further showed that the pump prices of the product remain unchanged, but may be adjusted this week if the market situation persists.
In an interview with Vanguard, Chief Executive Officer of Petroleumprice.ng, Olajide Jeremiah said: ‘We are witnessing frequent adjustment of depot prices for some reasons. These include the low crude oil prices and also competition among downstream players in Nigeria.
‘The market would continue to record more price adjustments in the coming weeks as new changes occur in the global oil market.
‘We also expect the adjustments would be extended to pumps so that consumers would feel the impact going on in the market’.
In another interview with Vanguard yesterday, the National President of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), Billy Gillis-Harry said the domestic market remains dynamic and responsive to development at the global market.
Gillis-Harry stressed the importance of increased and stable supply, while calling for the privatisation of government-owned refineries.
He said: ‘Full privatisation with participation of grassroots stakeholders such as PETROAN, Major Energy Marketers Association (MEMAN), and others remains the real solution.
Meanwhile, Dangote Petroleum Refinery has concluded plans to increase its capacity by 7.7 per cent to 700,000 barrels per day (bpd), from the current 650,000 bpd.
However, checks by Vanguard indicated that the refinery’s operations have already altered the previous flows of petroleum products, mainly from Europe and other markets, to Nigeria in particular and Africa in general.
Nigeria, which previously relied heavily on foreign refineries to meet its domestic fuel needs, has, through the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, helped meet domestic demand while also exporting to other markets worldwide.
This shift has affected the European gasoline market, with the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), noting that the Dangote Refinery’s production and exports will likely weigh further on the European gasoline market.
The refinery’s production has freed up gasoline volumes in global markets, prompting the need for new destination markets and adjustments in the flow of gasoline. This has led to declining petroleum product imports into Nigeria and affected Europe’s gasoline inventory levels.
