Filling stations across Nigeria are piling up petrol, betting on a big price hike after Dangote Refinery stopped selling fuel in naira. The refinery, a massive 650,000-barrel-a-day plant, hit pause last week when talks with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) for crude oil in naira fell apart. Now, with crude costs in dollars and sales not matching up, Dangote’s move has sparked a rush, private depots in Lagos jacked up petrol loading prices from N850 to N900 per litre overnight, and stations are stocking up to cash in later.
The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) isn’t happy. Their spokesman, Chinedu Ukadike, called out depot owners for hiking prices to squeeze extra profit from the chaos. He warned station owners not to panic-buy, saying they could lose big if Dangote flips back and drops prices. “Don’t stock too much,” he said on Sunday, “or you’ll be stuck with expensive fuel when the market shifts.” Demand’s been wild since Wednesday’s announcement, but IPMAN’s urging calm while the Federal Government and Dangote sort out their naira-for-crude mess.
Behind the scenes, there’s hope. Ukadike hinted that the government and Dangote are close to fixing their rift saying talks are on, and a Technical Sub-Committee meets today, Monday, to hash it out. Experts worry this dollar switch could shake the naira, already wobbly, as marketers scramble for cash to buy fuel. Meanwhile, NNPCL’s been slammed for selling off future crude to foreign lenders, leaving little for local use. With seven petrol ships due this week, Nigeria’s fuel fight is far from over and the question remains will prices soar or crash?