Oil Marketers Fear Losses as Price War Between NNPC, Dangote Refinery Gets Heated
- The heated price war between the NNPCL and the Dangote Refinery has been generating more reactions from oil marketers
- The oil marketers in the downstream sector have expressed worries over the sustainability of their businesses
- They explained how the price war could lead to a loss of billions of naira and affect the entire industry
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Legit.ng journalist Ruth Okwumbu-Imafidon has over a decade of experience in business reporting across digital and mainstream media.
As the price war between the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited and the Dangote Petroleum Refinery gets more heated, petroleum marketers are now in confusion and may face huge losses over the uncertainty.
Dangote Refinery crashed fuel price from N890 to N825 per litre for its customers and partners last week, triggering the pump prices to come down to N860 and N865 in filling stations across the country.
The NNPCL reacted to the price crash by also slashing prices from N925 to N860 earlier this week, and the price was reflected immediately in NNPC retail outlets.
Source: UGC
In the face of two price changes within one week, marketers in the downstream oil market now fear market instability and have raised concerns about the large quantities of petrol they still have unsold.
Oil Marketers fear huge losses
Some petroleum marketers, especially at the Apapa depot in Lagos, have said that these moves portend trouble for them as they have huge quantities of unsold products in their tanks and are awaiting new deliveries, the Daily SUN reports.
They noted that while NNPCL and Dangote Refinery are big players and can afford to engage in a price war, petroleum marketers can not keep up without incurring huge losses.
In February 2025 alone, Dangote Refinery reduced its fuel prices twice. The second price cut aimed to provide relief to Nigerians ahead of the Ramadan season, a period when food prices typically rise.
Dangote Refinery also said the price slash was in support of President Bola Tinubu's Renewed Hope Agenda and economic recovery policies.
Source: Getty Images
The refinery even took it further by offering its customers and partners a refund for products already purchased at the old prices.
This was to ensure that the new price took effect immediately in retail outlets, and that none of its partners suffered a loss.
The downstream petroleum marketers disclosed that sales have dropped further this week, as their customers are unwilling to buy from them due to fears that the big players could crash prices further without notice.
They disclosed that they were unable to load up to 10 trucks on Monday due to these concerns from their customers.
Petrol retailers commend price slash
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Petroleum retailers in Nigeria spoke on the recent fuel price changes from NNPCL and Dangote Refinery.
The PETROAN National President, Billy Gillis-Harry, explained how the price changes would affect the everyday life of Nigerians and help moderate the worsening inflation.
He also sent a message to Dangote Refinery over the latest decision to refund customers N65 for batches of products purchased under the old price.
Proofreading by James, Ojo Adakole, journalist and copy editor at Legit.ng.
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