Refiners: Petrol Prices Can Drop to N350 per Litre at Filling Stations, 3 Issues Identified

• The price of petrol at filling stations has been projected to fall below N400 per litre across the country
• The Crude Oil Refinery Owners Association of Nigeria believes this is possible with the current crude oil prices.
• The NNPC and other oil marketers recently adjusted their petrol prices to above N900 per litre nationwide

Dave Ibemere, a journalist at Legit.ng, has been reporting on business for over ten years. He has deep knowledge of the Nigerian economy, stock market, and general market trends.

The Crude Oil Refinery Owners Association of Nigeria (CORAN) has said that Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, could fall to as low as N350 per litre at filling stations.

According to CORAN, with crude prices declining sharply, there is no reason Nigerians should continue to pay as high as N900 per litre for petrol.

Eche Idoko, Publicity Secretary of CORAN, explained that the key to achieving a lower petrol price in Nigeria depends heavily on the naira-for-crude initiative.

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He stressed that petrol prices will continue to rise despite the crash in crude prices and the reduction in its landing cost.

Idoko noted that some middlemen do not want local refining to succeed, and they have since resorted to kicking against the naira-for-crude deal, Punch reports.

According to him, the price of petrol was heading to N700 per litre before the naira-for-crude deal was discontinued.

His words:

“Prices will keep rising because certain middlemen are determined to undermine local refining efforts. When we shifted to local refining, we saw petrol prices drop to around N700 per litre, and it was on track to fall further, just as we had promised.

"I previously stated that if local refining was supported, retail fuel prices would come down significantly. I even boldly projected that petrol could sell for as low as N350 per litre, especially if crude prices fell to $50 per barrel. That trajectory was becoming a reality until these vested interests stepped in”

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Why fuel prices is still above N900

Idoko expressed concern over the disconnect between global market trends and local pump prices, listing three key issues contributing to high fuel prices: foreign exchange, logistics, and the influence of middlemen.

He revealed that the suspension of naira to crude deal which gives Nigeria advantage has now exposed the country to external forces.

Idoko said that local refineries, like Dangote, now rely on crude oil imports to stay in business, as crude is not readily available locally.

He added:

“The price will keep rising due to high FX and logistics costs. Importing refined products adds shipping expenses, and middlemen also take a cut. It is like paying agency fees when renting a house. All these factors push the price up.”

Crude oil prices crash

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil, dropped to $65 per barrel from $69.90 in the global market.

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The decline followed President Donald Trump's series of tariff hikes.

While there are expectations that petrol prices will decrease, the CORAN spokesman believes there are forces that will make such a reduction difficult.

Source: Legit.ng