Struggling independent marketers brace for additional N25 loss per litre running into billions of naira, more independent filling stations may close down
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Independent fuel marketers are bracing for an additional loss of between N20 and N25 per litre, running into billions of naira, through the latest ex-depot price slash by Dangote Refinery, Nigeria’s dominant indigenous refiner equipped to produce 650,000 barrels per day (bpd) of petrol.
Dangote Refinery on Thursday announced a reduction of N15 across all zones, costing between N875 and N905 per litre, depending on location. It is the sixth price cut by the facility this year alone.
Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) spokesman Chinedu Ukadike said IPMAN members face a lose-win situation following the price war between Dangote Refinery and other players in the downstream oil and gas sector.
“For us, the independent marketers, it is a lose-win situation.
“The loss is that those who have already gotten petrol products from Dangote Refinery or its partners will have to lose a N20 to N25 margin per litre and revert to the new price,” Ukadile told DAILY POST.
The new Dangote template applies to all fuel marketers in partnership with the refinery – MRS, Ardova, Heyden, Optima Energy, Techno Oil, and Hyde Energy.
In the last pricing regime, pump price cost N890 per litre in Lagos but that rose to N920 in the North East and South South.
The new price ranges from N875 per litre in Lagos, progresses to N885 in the other parts of the South West, and up to N905 in the North East, South East, and South, due to the varying costs of transportation and other logistics.
About 5,000 independent fuel stations had already shut down because they could not financially survive previous unstable cost templates. More stations may go under with increasing price cuts and unpredictable operational costs.
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