AKINWALE ABOLUWADE
Despite a drop in the cost of crude oil, it has been discovered that filling stations across the country have raised the pump price for petrol to N900 per litre while some sell for higher.
Some retail outlets owned by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited raised petrol prices to N900 per litre in Lagos and Ogun, even as crude prices dropped from nearly $69 to $66 per barrel.
Findings showed that the Dangote refinery partners, such as Ardova and Heyden, jerked prices above N900 per litre.
AP, a partner of the Dangote refinery, sold petrol at the rate of N925 per litre in the Mowe area of Ogun State, while Heyden offered N910.
It was reported that filling stations along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway displayed different prices on Monday, confirming a new price regime despite no significant rise in crude prices or the naira-dollar exchange rate.
It was learned that throughout last week, petrol was sold below N900 in many of the filling stations in Lagos, Ogun and environs, while the prices were higher in the South-East, South-South and the North.
TotalEnergies sold petrol at N910 while Asharami offered N905 per litre. NIPCO and Fatgbems were yet to hit the N900 line on Monday, selling petrol at N890 and N892 respectively. Enyo sold the product at N915 per litre.
The Dangote refinery, Friday, confirmed that it raised its ex-depot petrol price to N850 from N820. However, no reason was given for the increment.
The latest data from Petroleumprice.ng showed that petrol depot prices among selected suppliers averaged N855 per litre. Prices ranged from N850 at Aiteo to as high as N870 at Sobaz and Mainland, reflecting slight variations across major depots.
Other depots include NIPCO Lagos at N852, Northwest at N860, Alkanes at N860, Ever at N863, TSL at N864, Pinnacle at N851.5, Menj at N852, and Sahara at N855.
As traders adjusted pump prices higher in Nigeria, Brent crude fell 4.4 per cent, while West Texas Intermediate finished 5.1 per cent lower on Friday.
Reuters said that oil was steady on Friday as markets awaited a meeting in the coming days between the Russian President, Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart, Donald Trump, but prices marked their steepest weekly losses since late June on a tariff-hit economic outlook.
