| We’re adjusting prices based on commercial considerations – Marketers
By Nse Anthony-Uko, Abuja, and Chika Izuora, Lagos
The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has warned refiners, importers, depot operators, marketers and retail outlet owners against exploiting consumers after finding only marginal reductions in the prices of petroleum products despite a sharp fall in global crude oil prices.
This is as petrol import landing cost dropped to N983.92 per litre, falling below Dangote Refinery’s gantry price of N1,125 per litre, according to data from the Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria (MEMAN).
The warning followed the FCCPC’s ongoing surveillance of the downstream petroleum sector, which the commission said revealed that gantry and retail prices had not declined in line with falling international crude oil prices.
The commission’s notice comes as refiners and marketers told reporters that commercial factors—including inventory positions, exchange-rate hedging and distribution costs—are slowing the pass-through of lower costs to pump prices, leaving many filling stations still selling petrol far above the new import parity price.
The FCCPC said the review covered gantry prices of local refiners, marketers, depot operators and retail outlets across the country.
“To be clear, the Commission does not regulate or approve petroleum prices in a deregulated downstream market,” FCCPC Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Tunji Bello, said in a statement on Sunday.
“Our responsibility under the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act, 2018, is to promote competitive markets, prevent anti-competitive conduct, and protect consumers from unfair, deceptive and exploitative business practices.
“We are concerned that while dealers often respond swiftly by hiking pump prices whenever crude prices rise, it is curious that it is taking so long for consumers to benefit significantly when crude prices fall. Competitive markets must work fairly in both directions.”
Crude oil prices have declined since the easing of tensions in the Middle East, including the ceasefire between Israel and Iran and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
The earlier spike pushed local petrol prices to between N1,350 and N1,500 per litre, while diesel rose to about N2,000 per litre during the height of the hostilities.
Despite the decline in international crude prices, petrol still sells for about N1,200 per litre in many parts of Nigeria.
Market analysts and consumer groups have called for pump prices to fall below N1,000 per litre, noting that petrol sold between N800 and N900 per litre before the conflict-driven surge.
The FCCPC acknowledged that domestic pump prices are influenced by several commercial and market factors, including refining costs, foreign exchange movements, logistics, financing and distribution expenses.
The commission, however, said it expects competitive market dynamics to ensure that cost savings are passed on to consumers more promptly.
Bello warned that where credible evidence shows conduct that undermines competition or exploits consumers, the FCCPC will investigate and take appropriate enforcement action.
He urged consumers to report suspected anti-competitive conduct, misleading pricing practices and other unfair market behaviour through the commission’s established complaint channels.
Industry groups and refiners said commercial considerations explain why pump prices have not fallen as sharply as crude oil prices.
The executive secretary of MEMAN, Clement Isong, said marketers were adjusting prices based on commercial realities and location.
“Market reality may not allow a significant price drop, given that the Middle East crisis is yet to fully settle,” he said.
“Prices have started coming down, but marketers are adjusting based on commercial considerations. We bought products under difficult market conditions and would not want to incur losses by quickly reducing prices on products purchased at higher costs.”
He added that prices were expected to continue falling over the coming weeks, although not as dramatically as consumers might hope.
The national president of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), Billy Gillis-Harry, expressed a similar view, saying retailers and marketers would not want to risk supply shortages by cutting prices too quickly.
Gillis-Harry noted that refiners stocked up at the height of the conflict and would first exhaust those inventories before making larger price adjustments.
He nevertheless said prices were beginning to respond to market forces and anticipated further reductions as inventories turned over.
The publicity secretary of the Crude Oil Refinery Owners Association of Nigeria (CORAN), Eche Idoko, pointed to exchange-rate pressure as another major factor.
“The market is dollar-driven,” he said, explaining that a weak naira can offset gains from lower crude oil prices.
He recalled that before the conflict, when crude traded between $60 and $65 per barrel, petrol sold for between N900 and N1,000 per litre. At current prices above $70 per barrel, he said consumers should not expect an immediate significant reduction.
LEADERSHIP contacted Dangote Group spokesman Anthony Chiejina for comment but had not received a response as of the time of filing this report.
Market data indicate that import landing costs have fallen significantly to about N983.92 per litre. However, refiners and marketers stressed that landing cost is only one component of retail pricing, citing refining, coastal transportation, inland distribution, financing, insurance, taxes and foreign exchange costs as continuing to influence pump prices.
The pricing battle has already produced some adjustments.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) reduced pump prices twice within a week, cutting a cumulative N125 per litre, according to market reports.
Dangote Petroleum Refinery also lowered its gantry price by N50 per litre—from N1,175 to N1,125—and reduced its coastal price from N1,495,215 per metric tonne to N1,428,165 per metric tonne.
A notice to customers from Dangote Group’s Commercial Operations said the review followed the de-escalation of tensions in the Middle East.
The refinery said the new gantry price took effect from 12 a.m. on Thursday and that all outstanding unloaded gantry volumes would be repriced effective June 25.
Petroleumprice.ng also confirmed the reduction in Dangote’s petrol price.
Petrol Import Landing Cost Drops to N983.92/Litre
Meanwhile, petrol import landing cost has dropped to N983.92 per litre, falling below Dangote Refinery’s gantry price of N1,125 per litre, according to MEMAN.
The figures indicate that short-term import costs have softened, even as the local refinery continues to sell petrol above the spot import benchmark.
MEMAN, in its Energy Bulletin for Wednesday, June 24, 2026, said the spot import parity price for petrol stood at N983.92 per litre via the ASPM route and N982.92 per litre via the NPSC-NOJ route.
The association said the lower spot prices reflected recent movements in the international market and suggested that the immediate cost of importing petrol into Nigeria had eased.
The bulletin showed that Dangote Refinery’s gantry price of N1,125 per litre was about N141.08 higher than the spot landing cost.
However, MEMAN noted that the 30-day average import parity price stood at N1,138.20 per litre, slightly above Dangote’s gantry price, indicating that while spot import costs had fallen, the longer-term average still favoured local refining.
The bulletin also showed that Brent crude averaged $78.24 per barrel, West Texas Intermediate averaged $69.90 per barrel and Nigeria’s Bonny Light averaged $79.64 per barrel during the seven-day period ending June 24.
MEMAN said the naira averaged N1,367.26 to the dollar during the review week, based on the Central Bank of Nigeria’s weighted average exchange rate on the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market.
For diesel, Dangote Refinery’s gantry price stood at N1,500 per litre, compared with a 30-day import parity price of N1,487.71 and a spot import parity of N1,213.44 per litre.
Jet fuel was priced at N1,450 per litre at the Dangote gantry, while its spot import parity stood at N1,201.23 per litre.
MEMAN also said liquefied petroleum gas sold for N925,000 per metric tonne at the refinery, while ex-depot petrol prices in Lagos ranged from N1,125 to N1,130 per litre.
According to the association, Nigeria remained the cheapest petrol market in West Africa, with pump prices averaging N1,208 per litre based on the lowest prevailing prices in Lagos.
The bulletin further showed that the seven-day average domestic fuel prices to June 24 were N1,001.76 per litre for petrol, N1,243.09 per litre for diesel and N1,202.24 per litre for aviation fuel.
