Nigeria’s downstream petroleum market entered a more intense phase of competition on Tuesday as MRS Oil Nigeria commenced the sale of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) at ₦739 per litre, aligning with the Dangote Petroleum Refinery’s new pricing strategy and triggering a sharp spike in gantry activity at the Lekki-based facility.
The price reduction immediately reshaped buying behaviour across Lagos, with motorists abandoning outlets selling above ₦800 per litre and forming long queues at MRS stations offering the lower rate. Market checks showed particularly heavy traffic at the MRS outlet in Alapere, where demand surged within hours of the price change.
While Lagos outlets reflected the new price, the adjustment remained uneven across neighbouring Ogun State. MRS stations along the Mowe–Ibafo stretch of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway retained prices of about ₦875 per litre as of Tuesday evening, highlighting persistent logistics and distribution cost pressures.
Dangote gantry records surge in truck activity
Beyond retail outlets, activity at the Dangote Refinery gantry intensified significantly, signalling growing acceptance of the refinery’s pricing framework among independent marketers and bulk buyers. Petroleumprice.ng can confirm heightened truck movements, ticket issuance and secondary trading at the gantry, as marketers scrambled to secure product volumes amid expectations of wider price alignment.
Observers said independent marketers and block buyers from across the country are increasingly patronising the refinery, with trucks loading continuously and tickets actively exchanged among buyers, many marketers are buying at ₦699 and are selling at ₦703. The surge suggests a strong supply response that could accelerate price convergence nationwide within days, as more marketers source PMS directly from the refinery .
Analysts note that the renewed gantry momentum reflects a strategic shift away from imported petrol, especially as foreign exchange volatility and shipping costs continue to erode importer margins.
Refinery-led pricing reshapes downstream dynamics
The latest development follows the Dangote Refinery’s decision to slash its petrol gantry price from ₦828 to ₦699 per litre, a move that has fundamentally altered competitive dynamics in the deregulated downstream market. President of the Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, had earlier vowed to enforce a pump price ceiling of ₦739 per litre, beginning with MRS and extending to other willing partners.
Dangote accused some marketers of deliberately sustaining elevated pump prices despite lower ex-depot costs, insisting that the refinery would deploy its distribution leverage to crash prices during the festive season. He said marketers who can lift at least 10 truckloads will buy PMS at ₦699 per litre, adding that authorities will no longer tolerate pump prices approaching ₦970 per litre.
The surge in gantry transactions now appears to validate that strategy, as independent marketers move quickly to secure supply in anticipation of broader price uniformity.
PETROAN warns of destabilising price war
However, the aggressive pricing push has drawn criticism from the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN). Its National President, Billy Gillis-Harry, warned that unilateral price pronouncements undermine the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, which mandates that petroleum prices be determined by market forces.
He described the unfolding competition as a “dirty price war” that risks inflicting long-term damage on the downstream sector. According to PETROAN, sustained below-cost pricing could wipe out importers, destabilise retail operators and expose the market to monopolisation risks.
Independent marketers estimate potential losses of up to ₦80bn, while industry data suggest petrol importers could lose more than ₦102bn monthly following the gantry price cut. At the same time, the Dangote Refinery itself is projected to absorb losses of about ₦91bn per month, underscoring the scale of the commercial gamble reshaping Nigeria’s fuel market.
Despite the tensions, market analysts argue that the spike in gantry activity and growing participation of independent marketers point to a decisive transition towards refinery led pricing, one that could stabilise pump prices in the medium term if supply remains robust and competition fair.
