As suppliers in the downstream industry became more competitive, the average price of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) at private depots and the Dangote Refinery decreased somewhat on Tuesday to ₦880.5 per litre from ₦881.5.
The ex-depot price of major private depot operators, such as Matrix, A.Y.M. Shafa, and Sigmund Zamson, which operate mostly in Warri, Delta State, and Calabar, Cross River State, was lowered from ₦890 to ₦889 per litre.
In a same vein, Pinnacle Oil and Gas kept its pricing at ₦872 per litre, while Dangote Petroleum Refinery reduced it by ₦1 to ₦872 per litre.
As deregulation continues to change the structure of the market, providers are becoming more competitive in terms of prices.
Last week, the landing cost of gasoline was set at ₦829.77 per litre by the Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria (MEMAN). This is a 5.69% decrease from the previous gantry rate of ₦877 per litre at the Dangote Refinery.
Nevertheless, retail prices at filling stations in Lagos, such as MRS, Ardova, and NNPC Limited outlets, continued to range between ₦920 and ₦922 per litre despite the downward revision at depots, indicating that customers had not yet seen the impact of the price reduction.
The naira, which was trading at ₦1,443.77 per dollar on the black market as of Tuesday, has been blamed by Vanguard for the tardy reaction at the pump to foreign exchange difficulties.
MEMAN clarified in its most recent Energy Bulletin, which was posted on its website, that variations in the Brent crude benchmark, which is now trading at $67.02 a barrel, had an impact on pricing movements.
“The average 30-day report for PMS was ₦829.77 per litre, whereas the spot prices were ₦815.38 (ASPM) and ₦815.40 (NPSC-NOJ) per litre,” MEMAN said.
“During the same period, diesel (AGO) averaged ₦974.50 per litre, while aviation turbine kerosene (ATK) recorded ₦962.53 per litre.”
Deregulation Increasing Market Rivalry
In response to the development, Mazi Colman Obasi, National President of the Oil and Gas Service Providers Association of Nigeria (OGSPAN), stated in an interview with Vanguard that the price changes are a reflection of the characteristics of a deregulated market.
“The downstream sector has been deregulated, and competition should be expected,” Obasi stated. It is anticipated that competition would give domestic customers greater choices.
