Despite receiving petrol at N820 per litre with no logistics costs, partners of the Dangote Refinery have yet to reduce pump prices at their filling stations.

Findings by The PUNCH on Sunday revealed that Heyden, AP, MRS and other major partners continued to sell petrol at N865 per litre.

Apart from a few MRS outlets in Lagos that adjusted their prices to N841 per litre, most stations maintained the previous rates. The MRS station at Alapere experienced long queues as motorists rushed to buy petrol at N841, while others along the same axis sold for N865 per litre.

However, at the MRS station in Olowotedo, along the Mowe–Ibafo axis of Ogun State, petrol sold for as high as N875 per litre. Heyden offered N863, while Ardova and others retained prices between N865 and N870 per litre.

Recall that marketers, including Conoil, Eterna, Golden Super, Nepal Energies, Kifayat Global Energy, and Riquest and Gas, had partnered with the Dangote Refinery under its logistics-free fuel distribution scheme.

The refinery had earlier announced that from Monday, September 15, petrol prices were expected to drop following the rollout of more than 1,000 compressed natural gas-powered trucks to enable direct fuel distribution across the country. According to Dangote, the initiative was designed to cut logistics costs and reduce the ex-depot price to N820 per litre, translating into lower pump prices nationwide.

Under the new pricing framework, motorists in Lagos and other South-Western states were expected to pay N841 per litre, while those in Abuja, Rivers, Delta, Edo and Kwara states were projected to buy at N851 per litre.

The adjustment was meant to take immediate effect in selected states, with a nationwide rollout to follow as more CNG trucks were deployed. However, nearly three weeks later, the anticipated relief has not materialised, as most filling stations continue to sell at old rates.

Our correspondent observed several Dangote CNG trucks along the Lagos–Ibadan Expressway, confirming the commencement of the direct, logistics-free fuel distribution scheme.

Some marketers claimed that they had not reduced prices because they still held old stock purchased at higher costs, saying adjustments would be made once the new supplies reached their tanks.

However, a source at the Dangote Refinery told The PUNCH that many of the marketers had already received new supplies and had no justification for maintaining prices above N841 or N851 per litre, depending on their location.

“It’s unfair to keep selling at old rates. They are receiving the product at N820 per litre with free logistics, yet they’re still selling higher, that’s not right,” the source, who requested anonymity, said.

The source further explained that the refinery could not enforce pump prices.

“We can’t compel them as before. It’s purely on recommendation, since marketers insist the law does not permit us to fix pump prices, and NMDPRA seems to agree,” the official noted.

“Those who submitted their station lists are already getting supplies. We would have covered more ground if not for the PENGASSAN issue, but by this new week, we expect wider coverage. Still, marketers should understand that Nigerians are watching and expecting new prices; that’s why you see queues at the MRS station in Alapere,” the source added.

Meanwhile, not all stakeholders have welcomed Dangote’s frequent price adjustments. The Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria recently criticised the refinery’s pricing strategy, saying the timing of its cuts often disrupts market stability.

DAPPMAN Executive Secretary, Olufemi Adewole, argued that portraying the price reductions as patriotic gestures ignored their broader implications.

“Claims that repeated fuel price reductions by the Dangote Refinery are patriotic overlook their timing and market impact. These cuts are often introduced when other importers have active cargoes at sea or in tanks, creating price shocks that distort competition and impose financial strain on market participants — including the refinery’s own domestic customers,” Adewole said.

For over a year since commencing petrol production, the Dangote Refinery has effectively taken over as the market’s price trendsetter, displacing the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited from its traditional role.

NNPC spokesperson Andy Odeh confirmed that the company had not adjusted its rates.

“Our current pump price in Lagos remains N865. We have not made any changes,” he said.

Independent marketers had previously pledged to review pump prices once they began receiving supplies from Dangote, but as of Sunday, no adjustments had been made.

Seplat Energy Plc, leading Nigerian independent energy company, says that domestic gas remains the engine of prosperity for Nigeria and Africa in general – from powering homes, to fuelling industry and providing a cleaner alternative for cooking and transportation. This informed the company’s heavy investment in gas processing capacity devoted to the domestic market, including the ANOH gas plant which is expected to come on stream before the end of the year.

The Director, New Energy at Seplat, Mr. Okechukwu Mba, said this at the 2025 Africa Energy Week (AEW) held in Cape Town, South Africa. Mba, who spoke during a panel discussion titled “Beyond Exports: Developing Commercially Viable Domestic Gas Markets”, said stakeholders need to ensure that the challenges in the gas to power value chain from molecules at the wellhead to electrons in homes are addressed for Nigeria to realize the goal of increased power supply to Nigerians. He also emphasized the importance of a commercially viable power sector which is critical to achieving growth in the domestic gas market. 

He said: “Bankable anchor customers are needed to underpin the development of new gas projects whilst identifying infrastructural challenges in power transmission and distribution as well as the liquidity crises in the power sector as two areas that require urgent attention in order to unlock new gas projects.   Mba highlighted that Seplat Energy currently supplies gas to five (5) power stations in Nigeria which underscores its commitment to the power sector, noting that gas is well positioned to provide reliable and affordable base load energy to drive to economic growth.

According to Mba, Seplat Energy adopts a comprehensive approach to growing the domestic gas market.  “Beside investments in pipeline gas projects, Seplat is also investing in Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) and Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) facilities,” he added.

In addition to the significant volumes of butane now supplied to the domestic market from its NGL plant in Bonny River Terminal, Seplat Energy also intends to commence delivery of LPG from its Sapele and ANOH gas plants before the end of the year. This, Mba said, will make Seplat Energy one of the leading suppliers of LPG, displacing biomass and providing a cleaner cooking fuel that will improve the health and living conditions of Nigerians.   He added that Seplat Energy’s investment into CNG was to make gas available to customers not currently connected to the domestic gas pipeline network.

The New Energy boss at Seplat stated that the company plans to take its operated gas production to over 1 Bcf/d by 2030, while noting that the recent incentives granted by government to the gas sector will aid the achievement of this goal. 

In a related development, the Director External Affairs & Social Performance, Seplat Energy, Chioma Afe, who featured in a panel discussed dubbed “Bureaucracy or Bridge? Tailoring Global ESG Approaches for African Realities”, said in all the company’s moves in driving to drive access to reliable and affordable energy for Nigerians, ESG fundamentals are strongly upheld and practicalised.  

According to her, the peculiarities of the Nigerian people and Africa at large remain very germane in implementing Seplat Energy’s ESG framework and affirming its commitments.

She said: “For a truly successful and impactful ESG implementation, it is highly imperative to move from a “one size fits all” mindset, to a co-created framework and implementation that is focused on value creation and empowers African nations to define their own sustainable growth plan. One that ensures ESG principles become a bridge across industries and countries driving growth and not a bureaucratic exercise.” 

“Adapting ESG to local needs is key. Therefore, we should explore customizing global ESG frameworks to address the unique socio-economic conditions, developmental challenges, including infrastructure, education and healthcare, as well as vulnerabilities to climate change and economic empowerment, across the continent.”

Speaking to the company’s model, she noted that: “At Seplat Energy, our approach has been a regular and systematic process of identifying and analyzing the development ‘gaps’ in our areas of operation and partnering with our communities to define project goals, prioritize resources and develop effective strategies to achieve them.”