Fuel prices at the pump may increase soon because Dangote Refinery and some private depots have stopped selling PMS. Dangote Refinery announced on March 19, 2025, that it would suspend sales in Naira because it buys crude oil in U.S. dollars but has been selling more fuel in Naira than the amount of crude it has received in Naira.
Why Dangote Refinery Stopped Selling in Naira
Dangote Refinery said its crude oil purchase process does not match its petrol sales process. Since it buys crude in dollars but sells a lot of fuel in Naira, it had to stop selling to fix this problem.
The refinery also denied rumours that the stoppage was due to fraud. “Some reports claim we stopped sales because of fraud, but this is false. Our system is secure, and there have been no fraud issues,” the company said.
Dangote Refinery assured customers that this is only temporary and that sales will restart once it gets more crude oil in Naira from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). However, NNPC has not yet said when this will happen.
Private Depots React:
After Dangote’s announcement, several private depots responded. Some stopped selling PMS completely, while others raised their prices. Amongst depots that stopped sales includes Bovas, Aipec, Menj, and Integrated, while those that raised their prices between March 18 and March 19, 2025 includes
- Rainoil: ₦830 → ₦835 per litre
- Wosbab: ₦826 → ₦835 per litre
- Pinnacle: ₦826 → ₦835 per litre
- MRS Tincan: ₦827 → ₦835 per litre
- Chipet: ₦830 → ₦900 per litre (biggest increase)
- Nipco: ₦825 → ₦835 per litre
Chipet had the biggest increase, raising its price by ₦70 per litre in just one day.
What This Means for Nigerians
With Dangote Refinery pausing sales and some depots raising prices, fuel could become more expensive for Nigerians soon. Many people depend on petrol for transport and power, so a price increase will make life harder.
Dangote Refinery has promised to restart sales once it gets more Naira-based crude oil. But until NNPC provides it, the situation remains uncertain.
For now, Nigerians can only wait and hope fuel prices do not go up too much.
