Dangote Refinery adopts dollar pricing for petrol, diesel sales
Dangote Petroleum Refinery has officially switched to dollar-denominated sales of refined petroleum products, ending its naira-based pricing system and introducing new benchmark prices for petrol, diesel and aviation fuel.
Under the new pricing structure, Premium Motor Spirit, also known as petrol, will sell at an ex-depot price of 79 cents per litre, while diesel is priced at 1 dollar and 9 cents per litre and aviation fuel at 94 cents per litre. The new rates took effect on Monday.
The refinery also announced that all previously issued naira-denominated invoices and transaction documents for petrol supplied through its gantry and coastal facilities are no longer valid, directing marketers to make future purchases in United States dollars.
However, the company clarified that the new arrangement does not apply to Liquefied Petroleum Gas, commonly known as cooking gas, which will continue under the existing payment structure.
Industry sources say the move follows growing foreign exchange pressures and changes in the refinery's crude oil procurement process. According to the sources, a larger share of crude oil supplied to the refinery is now being paid for in dollars, while refined products had continued to be sold domestically in naira, creating a currency imbalance and increasing foreign exchange risks.
The refinery is said to have adopted the new pricing model to align the currency used for crude oil purchases with that used for the sale of refined petroleum products.
The development is expected to have far-reaching implications for petroleum marketers and the downstream oil sector, as the final retail pump price of petrol will now be influenced by exchange rate movements, international crude oil prices, transportation costs and other market factors.
The decision also raises fresh concerns about the future of the Federal Government's naira-for-crude policy, which was introduced to support local refining, reduce pressure on foreign exchange demand and stabilise domestic fuel prices.
With Dangote Refinery now playing a dominant role in Nigeria's fuel supply chain, industry stakeholders are expected to closely monitor how the transition to dollar pricing affects fuel availability and pump prices across the country.
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