Petrol prices are expected to crash to about N300 per litre when mass production by the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and other refineries begins.
Refinery owners, under the aegis of the Crude Oil Refinery Owners Association of Nigeria (CORAN), explained that providing enough crude oil to local refiners would crash the price of petrol, stating that foreign refineries were cheating Nigeria.
CORAN stated that, like diesel prices, which sold for N1,700 before Dangote began production but later crashed to N1,200, the cost of petrol will crash when mass production begins.
Recall that Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, stated in May 2024 that following the laid-down plans of the Dangote refinery, Nigeria would no longer need to import petrol starting in June this year.
Dangote had also stated that his refinery could meet West Africa’s petrol and diesel needs, as well as the continent’s aviation fuel demand. He spoke at the Africa CEO Forum Annual Summit in Kigali, expressing optimism about transforming Africa’s energy landscape.
“Right now, Nigeria has no cause to import anything apart from gasoline (petrol), and by sometime in June, within the next four or five weeks, Nigeria shouldn’t import anything like gasoline; not one drop of a litre,” the billionaire had declared.
Also, Dangote had earlier in the year crashed the pump price of diesel to N1,200/litre when the commodity was selling at between N1,700 and N1,800/litre at the time.
He further dropped the price to below N1,000/liter but could not sustain this price due to the rise in the exchange rate. The refinery eventually returned the price to the initial rate of N1,200/litre.
Speaking to PUNCH on Sunday, CORAN Publicity Secretary, Eche Idoko, said that many companies in Nigeria benefit from petrol imports at Nigeria’s expense.
He said that when the refineries begin production in large volumes, there will be a petrol price crash to about N300 per litre. Diesel price to crash further.
He predicted that the diesel price would crash further before December 2024, pointing out that the high exchange rate is responsible for the current price of diesel in the country.
According to reports, Nigeria has about 25 licensed modular refineries: five are fully functional and producing petroleum products, and 10 are in various stages of completion.
Modular refinery operators disclosed that, in addition to the five operational refineries, others remain inoperable due to the challenges of crude oil supply.
Oil marketers also said that petrol costs should be lower than their current price immediately after large production begins in Nigeria.
