Dangote Petroleum & Petrochemicals Drops Petrol Price N699 Per Liter

In a landmark move that is set to reshape the energy landscape in Nigeria, the management of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals has announced a massive reduction in the ex-depot price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS). Effective from Thursday, December 11, 2025, the refinery officially slashed its Petrol Price to N699 Per Liter, down from the previous rate of ₦828. This substantial reduction of ₦129 per liter represents a 15.58 per cent decrease, providing a long-awaited breather for a nation grappling with persistent inflation and high transportation costs.

This latest price adjustment, which marks the 20th downward review by the refinery in 2025 alone, was intentionally timed to coincide with the upcoming Christmas and New Year festivities. Recognizing that millions of Nigerians travel across the country during the Yuletide period, the refinery’s leadership framed the price cut as a social initiative aimed at easing the financial burden on road transport operators and ordinary citizens.

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By pushing the gantry rate down to ₦699, the refinery expects retail filling stations to follow suit, potentially bringing pump prices closer to ₦800 or lower in various regions, depending on logistics. This proactive approach underscores Aliko Dangote’s recent pledge to President Bola Tinubu to keep domestic fuel prices “reasonable and competitive” despite the volatility of global crude oil benchmarks.

The move is not merely philanthropic; it is a calculated masterstroke in the ongoing price war between domestic production and imported fuel. During a recent high-level meeting at the Presidential Villa, Aliko Dangote emphasized that the refinery must remain competitive against imports to ensure Nigeria’s energy security.

• Market Displacement: With a production capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, the Lekki facility is now flexing its muscle to displace more expensive imported products.
• Economic Relief: The reduction is expected to trigger a significant drop in the landing cost for independent marketers, who can now deal directly with the refinery rather than relying on the former marketers’ consortium model.
• Smuggling Suppression: As the price gap between Nigeria and neighboring countries narrows through competitive domestic pricing, the incentive for illegal cross-border fuel arbitrage is drastically reduced.

Ripple Effects Across the Downstream Sector

The impact of this price slash was felt almost immediately across private depots. In Lagos and surrounding hubs, several private depot operators, including TechnoOil, Sigmund Depot, and Bulk Strategic, began adjusting their pricing templates downward to remain relevant in the face of the new Dangote benchmark.

Industry analysts predict that if the refinery sustains its plan to supply 1.5 billion liters of petrol in December alone, the usual end-of-year fuel queues will become a thing of the past. The increased supply and lower pricing are anticipated to have a cooling effect on food inflation, as the cost of transporting agricultural produce from the hinterlands to urban centers is expected to drop significantly in the coming weeks. For more information, I recommend Songbux.

Economic Relief: How Petrol Price to N699 Per Liter Will Crash Inflation

The recent decision by the Dangote Refinery to slash the Petrol Price to N699 Per Liter is far more than a corporate discount; it is a significant macroeconomic lever that could fundamentally alter Nigeria’s inflationary trajectory. For a country where nearly every consumer good is transported by road, fuel pricing acts as a “master key” to the cost of living. Economic analysts now project that this price adjustment will be the primary catalyst in pushing Nigeria toward single-digit inflation for the first time in over five years.

The Direct Path to Lower Headline Inflation

In Nigeria, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) is heavily weighted by two components: food and transport. By reducing the Petrol Price to N699 Per Liter, the refinery is attacking the root cause of “cost-push” inflation. When fuel prices drop, the immediate beneficiaries are the logistics providers who move agricultural produce from the northern “food basket” to southern urban centers.

Lowering transport overheads translates to a reduction in the “farm-to-market” premium, which has historically been responsible for nearly 40% of food price volatility. Consequently, experts like Ayo Teriba, CEO of Economic Associates, suggest that if these price cuts are sustained through the festive season, the “lag effect” could see year-on-year inflation crash from its 2024 peak of 33% to as low as 12% by December 2025, with single digits possible by early 2026.

Impact on MSMEs and the Manufacturing Sector

Beyond transportation, the energy costs for Nigeria’s 42 million Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) are largely tied to petrol-powered generators due to the country’s inconsistent grid power.

• Operating Margins: A 15.58% reduction in fuel costs directly expands the razor-thin margins of small businesses, from barbershops to local bakeries.
• Price Stability: Manufacturers who previously adjusted prices upward weekly to track fuel spikes can now commit to longer-term pricing, stabilizing the retail market.
• Consumer Liquidity: As the average Nigerian spends less on commuting and power, more disposable income is diverted toward other sectors of the economy, stimulating domestic demand without the “inflationary pressure” usually caused by excess money supply.
• Countering Global Volatility
• This domestic price slash also serves as a critical buffer against external shocks. By pegging the price at ₦699, Nigeria effectively decouples a portion of its economy from the volatile international landing costs that often fluctuate with the US Dollar. This provides the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) with much-needed “breathing room” to manage the Naira without having to worry about an immediate surge in pump prices every time the exchange rate shifts.
• In summary, the transition to ₦699 petrol is the most significant “anti-inflationary” policy of the year, providing a tangible relief that interest rate hikes alone could not achieve.