BREAKING: Dangote Halts Naira For Dollar-Denominated Fuel Pricing
Dangote Petroleum Refinery has fixed the ex-depot price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, at $0.779 per litre as it officially transitioned to a dollar-denominated pricing system for refined petroleum products.
The new pricing template, which took effect on Monday, July 13, 2026, also pegs Automotive Gas Oil (diesel) at $1.087 per litre and aviation fuel at $0.942 per litre, while coastal deliveries of petrol have been priced at $1,044.62 per metric tonne.
The move effectively ends naira payments for petrol, diesel and aviation fuel purchased from the refinery, marking a significant shift from the naira-based transactions introduced under the Federal Government’s naira-for-crude policy, which commenced on October 1, 2024.
In a notice to petroleum marketers and customers, the refinery said all previously issued naira-denominated Proforma Invoices (PFIs) and Deal Recaps for both gantry and coastal transactions had become invalid.
The notice, signed by the refinery’s Group Commercial Operations, stated: “Following our email of July 9, 2026, regarding the transition from naira to United States dollars (USD), please note that all issued naira coastal and gantry PFIs/Deal Recaps are now invalid, and no payments should be made against them.
“The applicable USD prices for each product, effective today, July 13, 2026, are provided below.”
Under the revised pricing template, petrol sold through the gantry will cost $0.779 per litre, diesel $1.087 per litre, aviation fuel $0.942 per litre, while coastal PMS supplies will sell for $1,044.62 per metric tonne.
The refinery, however, clarified that the transition does not affect Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) transactions.
“Also note that this transition to USD does not apply to LPG transactions,” the notice added.
Industry sources said the change was necessitated by an increasing mismatch between the currency used to purchase crude oil and the currency in which refined products were being sold.
According to one source familiar with the development, Dangote Refinery now receives a significant portion of its crude oil from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) under dollar-denominated supply arrangements, while a large volume of refined products has continued to be sold domestically in naira.
The source said the imbalance had heightened the refinery’s exposure to foreign exchange risks.
Another industry official explained that the refinery had received fewer crude cargoes under the naira-for-crude arrangement in recent months, making it commercially necessary to align product sales with the currency used for crude procurement.
“Dangote Refinery is receiving fewer naira-denominated crude cargoes from NNPCL than dollar-denominated cargoes, while a larger volume of its petroleum products has been sold in naira.
The resulting currency mismatch, combined with volatility in international crude oil prices and continued exchange-rate uncertainty, made it necessary to migrate product sales to dollars,” the source said.
The development is expected to have far-reaching implications for petroleum marketers, many of whom source products directly from the refinery for nationwide distribution.
It also raises fresh questions about the future of the Federal Government’s naira-for-crude initiative, which was introduced to strengthen domestic refining, reduce pressure on foreign exchange demand and help stabilise fuel prices.
Although the refinery has fixed a dollar benchmark for product sales, the retail pump price of petrol across the country will continue to depend on several factors, including the prevailing naira-dollar exchange rate, international crude oil prices, transportation and logistics costs, regulatory charges and marketers’ margins.
With Dangote Refinery now accounting for a substantial share of Nigeria’s refined petroleum supply, industry stakeholders are expected to closely monitor how the new pricing regime influences fuel prices and competition in the deregulated downstream petroleum market./TRIBUNE
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