Nigeria’s oil marketers have projected that the price of petrol could decrease to between N600 and N650 per liter once the Dangote Refinery begins operations, depending on the production costs.

Hammed Fashola, the National Vice President of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, shared this forecast in a statement on Monday.

Fashola’s remarks come amid recent updates indicating that the $20 billion Dangote Refinery might not commence fuel production as anticipated in mid-August 2024, contrary to previous statements from Aliko Dangote, the president of Dangote Group.

Fashola highlighted that the refinery is currently facing challenges with crude oil supply, which remains a significant issue for the Lagos-based facility.

Presently, the official price of petrol from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) is around N570 per liter, while private depots are selling at approximately N700 per liter.

He expressed optimism that once Dangote’s refinery is operational, it could potentially reduce the pump price to between N600 and N650 per liter, although the exact price will depend on the refinery’s production costs.

“While the official rate from NNPC is around N570 per liter, private depots are charging much higher at around N700 per liter.

We are hopeful that Dangote’s fuel will be priced between N600 and N650 per liter, with N600 being a reasonable expectation, depending on their production costs,” Fashola noted.

Additionally, last week saw a dispute between the Dangote Refinery and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission over the allocation of 26 million barrels of crude oil, highlighting ongoing tensions in the sector.