Nigeria’s fuel marketers in price war, battle for market share

• Nine depots drop prices to N821/litre

By Adewale Sanyaolu

Fuel marketers are currently in a fierce battle for control of the largest share of the downstream petroleum market. The battle among oil marketers, including major players and independents, is driven by the deregulation of the downstream sector and the influx of locally refined products from Dangote Refinery.

The price war and competition have led to price reductions at filling stations but also threaten the survival of smaller marketers, with over 70 per cent of some independent outlets closing shop due to unsustainable operating conditions. The situation highlights ongoing struggles for market dominance between the Dangote Refinery, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), and traditional fuel importers, as they navigate pricing, logistics, and regulatory challenges.

As of Tuesday, September 2, market survey findings by Daily Sun on petroleumprice.ng indicated that no fewer than nine depots, including Dangote Refinery, were selling Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also called petrol, at N821 per litre. The depots include Heyden, Integrated, 11 Plc, Aiteo, Sahara, MRS Tincan, Bovas, and Dangote Refinery. Rainoil and Nipco topped the market at N850 per litre, followed by Prudent, Oghara, Matrix Warri, Sigmund, and Soroman at N840 per litre.

At the pumps, Ardova Petroleum was selling at N845 per litre as of Monday, compared to N865 per litre pump price by NNPC, 11 Plc, MRS, and TotalEnergies.

The price drop by marketers may be linked to plans by Dangote Refinery to disrupt the petroleum downstream market with its recent announcement to begin direct supply of petroleum products with free logistics to petrol station operators, manufacturers, telecommunications companies, the aviation sector, and other large-scale users.

Dangote Petroleum Refinery, in an earlier update on the scheme, said only 450 trucks out of the 4,000 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) trucks had arrived due to logistics challenges in China. However, as of last week, a reliable source at the refinery confirmed that 1,000 trucks had arrived, leaving a balance of 3,000 trucks.

The source added that with 1,000 trucks in custody, fuel distribution will commence in Lagos and the South-West before the scheme spreads to other zones as the remaining trucks arrive at the Lagos port. “We have received up to 1,000 trucks. More are still coming, and we believe all will be delivered by the end of September,” the source said.

In June, the Dangote Refinery revealed that it was investing over N720 billion to deploy 4,000 CNG-powered trucks across Nigeria for the nationwide distribution of petroleum products. The company said the initiative would save Nigerians over N1.7 trillion annually in fuel distribution costs.