The retail price of Premium Motor Spirit, petrol, has increased to between N1030 and N1,150 per litre following a hike by Dangote Refinery and ex-depot prices of the product.

On Friday, the $20 billion Dangote Refinery announced a fresh ex-depot price hike from N899 per litre to N955 per litre.

According to an email sent to its customers, Dangote Refinery confirmed the new price regime, noting that marketers buying between two million and 4.99 million litres would now buy at N955/litre, while five million litres and above would buy at N950/litre.

This represents a N55 or 6.17 percent petrol price increase from N899.50/litre announced as a holiday discount for Nigerians last December.

Dangote Refinery’s petrol price increase had sparked different degrees of retail price adjustment across filling stations.

The spokesperson of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Chinedu Ukadike, confirmed that the product may sell above N1,100 per litre across members’ filling stations nationwide.

“Commuters will likely pay over N1,150 per litre at faraway locations, while locations close to the depot will pay N1,100. This is because we will add about N50 logistics costs. Currently, ex-depot prices have increased to N980.

“This change is immediate because crude oil price increase, too, is immediate,” he stated.

Meanwhile, the president of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlet Owners Association of Nigeria, Billy Gillis-Harry, said although it is too early to project petrol retail price after Dangote Refinery’s upward price review, it is certain that the product would cost more.

“Because right now, we still have an obligation with the MRS to be selling at N935, and some of us bought products there.

So, if they change their prices because of the Dangote price, then the conversation will be different.

“After the price of buying, there must be the price of logistics. Once that is computed, we can then look at what is the most humane profit margin,” he stated.

Meanwhile, we gathered that some filling stations in the federal capital territory, Abuja, had already effected at least a N50 adjustment to their petrol prices.

For instance, those selling on Friday morning at N980 per litre have increased to between N1040 and N1,155 per litre.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited retail outlets still sell petrol at 965 per litre as of Friday evening.

Recall that depot owners on Thursday had also increased their petrol prices.

In December last year, petrol prices reduced to around N935 and N1100 per litre nationwide.