A wave of price cuts swept through Nigeria’s major fuel depots yesterday, with no supplier in Lagos, Warri, Calabar, or Port Harcourt recording an increase, a signal that competition in the downstream petroleum market is intensifying as domestic refining capacity grows.
Lagos set the tone for the day’s pricing, with Dangote Petroleum Refinery holding its ex-depot rate steady at N1,216 per litre, still the cheapest among major suppliers in the market. Pinnacle moved to match that figure, trimming its own price by N2 to land at the same N1,216 mark. Other players followed suit in smaller increments: MRS cut N2 off its rate to reach N1,222 per litre, while Emadeb made a sharper N7 reduction to settle at N1,218. A cluster of suppliers, including Aiteo, Nipco, Ascon, Shema, and T-Time, held their prices in a tight band between N1,218 and N1,220, suggesting the market is converging around a narrow range at the country’s largest supply hub.
The picture in Warri told a similar story, though with steeper cuts in places. Bulk Strategic, Liquid Bulk, Masters, Matrix, and Sigmund all brought their rates down to roughly N1,245 per litre, with Rain Oil delivering the day’s most dramatic move, slashing N23 off its price to reach that same level. Matrix trimmed N10 to arrive there as well, while TSL made a more modest N6 cut to N1,244.
Calabar and Port Harcourt saw comparable adjustments. In Calabar, Northwest cut N15 to bring its price to N1,235, Mainland reduced its rate by N10 to N1,240, and Hong Petroleum, already the area’s cheapest option, shaved off a further N2 to reach N1,233. Port Harcourt’s depots moved in step, with Matrix and Optima both landing at N1,243 after cuts of N3 and N2 respectively, while Rain Oil repeated its N23 reduction to hit N1,245, mirroring its move in Warri.
Taken together, the price movements point to a market where the gap between Nigeria’s cheapest and most expensive depots is narrowing, from N1,216 per litre in Lagos to around N1,245 in other regions, a spread analysts attribute to improved supply conditions and marketers competing more aggressively for large-volume buyers. Whether that trend translates into cheaper prices at the pump, however, will still hinge on logistics costs, retail margins, and other costs layered on after fuel leaves the depot.
Diesel prices moved in the same direction. In Lagos, Matrix cut N55 off its AGO price to reach N1,645 per litre, while Aiteo trimmed N15 to N1,630. Warri saw even larger diesel reductions, with Matrix cutting N70 to N1,650 and A.Y.M Shafa matching that price after a N40 cut of its own, reinforcing the sense that competitive pricing and stronger product availability are increasingly setting the pace across Nigeria’s fuel market.
