NNPCL Slashes Petrol Price

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has reduced the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit in the Federal Capital Territory after lower ex-depot costs announced earlier by Dangote Refinery and private depot owners filtered into the retail market.

A correspondent who monitored filling stations across Abuja on Thursday gathered that NNPCL retail outlets now sell PMS at ₦930 per litre, down from the earlier price of ₦945, representing a ₦10 reduction per litre.

The new pricing, sources said, has been implemented across NNPCL retail stations on the Kubwa Expressway, Gwarimpa, Wuse Zone 4, Wuse Zone 6, Wuse Zone 4, and Wuse Zone 6, as well as satellite stations in surrounding districts across the city and its suburbs.

Market observations also showed pricing alignment among independent retailers following the change. The pump price at Ranoil was adjusted downward by ₦5, now selling at ₦935 per litre from the previous ₦940.

Several non-state oil marketers, including stations operated by MRS Oil & Gas, retail forecourts under the Ardova PLC network, and other branded outlets, were seen dispensing petrol within the ₦930 to ₦935 per litre range, reflecting intensified price competition across the capital.

Industry insiders confirmed that the wave of retail reductions followed ex-depot price cuts by NNPC-supplying depots earlier Thursday morning.

The dip was led by a consortium of private bulk terminal operators including, but not limited to, Pinnacle Oil and Gas Limited and Aiteo Eastern E&P Company Limited, which dropped ex-depot PMS rates by at least ₦10.

Current confirmed ex-depot prices were pegged at ₦846, ₦845, and ₦844 per litre respectively, as of Thursday morning’s market review window.

Reacting to the development earlier, Chinedu Ukadike, National Public Relations Officer of Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, said further reductions may still hit retail pumps as the price battle intensifies.

“As the petrol price war intensifies, Nigerians should expect even more adjustments. The market is not done yet,” he said, hinting at a possible deeper retail slide if competition pressure is sustained into the weekend.

The retail tempering of PMS pricing in Abuja, analysts said, reflects the first visible consumer-level impact of the ongoing crude-to-depot pricing recalibration driven by domestic refining competition and depot owner margin compression.