The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has reduced its petrol gantry price from N828 to N699 per litre, a move industry observers say could influence retail fuel pricing across Nigeria.

The adjustment, effective from yesterday, 11 December 2025, represents a reduction of N129 per litre, or approximately 15.58 per cent, according to real-time market data from Petroleumprice.ng.

An official at the refinery, who confirmed the development, said that the recent price cut marks the 20th price adjustment by the refinery within the current year.

The reduction follows remarks by Dangote Petroleum Refinery Chairman Aliko Dangote during a closed-door meeting with President Bola Tinubu on 6 December, in which he reaffirmed the company’s commitment to maintaining competitive domestic fuel prices despite global volatility and ongoing smuggling along Nigeria’s borders.

“Prices are going down. The reason why prices have to go down is that we have to also compete with imports,” Dangote said. He added that while smuggling has declined, it remains a challenge, noting that petrol in Nigeria is “about 55 per cent lower than the price of our neighbouring countries.”

Dangote emphasised that the refinery’s petroleum products, including diesel and petrol, “will continue to be sold in the market at a very reasonable price,” and stressed that the operation is a long-term investment. “We are not here to make our $20 billion back quickly; it’s a long-term investment,” he said.

The latest adjustment by Dangote has prompted ripple effects across private depots, with Petroleumprice.ng reporting reductions at several locations. Sigmund Depot cut its ex-depot price by N4 to N824 per litre, Bulk Strategic reduced by N3, and TechnoOil implemented a sharper decrease of N15. Other depots, including A.A. Rano, NIPCO, and Aiteo, also made marginal adjustments in response to the new Dangote pricing template. (The Guardian)