Dangote Hikes Fuel Price for Fifth Time in March

The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has increased its ex-depot price of Premium Motor Spirit to N1,275 per litre, marking its fifth price adjustment within March and highlighting continued instability in the downstream fuel market.

The latest change follows an earlier revision announced just hours before, when the price was set at N1,245 per litre. The new figure represents an additional N30 increase, or about 2.4 percent. Compared with the N1,175 per litre price earlier in the month, the adjustment reflects an overall rise of N100, or 8.5 percent.

In a notice issued to marketers on Saturday morning, the company informed customers that previous pricing schedules were no longer valid and should be disregarded. The updated gantry and coastal prices took effect from 12:00 a.m. on March 21, 2026.

The refinery also revised its coastal price upward from N1,512,648 per metric tonne to N1,646,748 per metric tonne, an increase of N134,100, representing about 8.9 percent.

According to the notice, customers with valid credit arrangements under bank guarantees will still be able to load products, provided their credit balances cover the price differential arising from the adjustment.

The repeated revisions within a short period point to sustained pricing pressure in the market, driven largely by fluctuations in global crude oil benchmarks and associated logistics costs. Despite the presence of the refinery owned by Dangote Petroleum Refinery, domestic fuel pricing continues to track international market movements.

The refinery, located in Nigeria and owned by Aliko Dangote, has now increased its gantry price five times in less than three weeks. At the start of March, the price stood at N774 per litre before rising progressively to N874, N1,050, N1,175, N1,245, and now N1,275.

Cumulatively, this represents an increase of N501 per litre since the beginning of the month, or roughly 64.7 percent.

Market analysts expect the latest adjustment to influence retail pump prices nationwide, with possible knock-on effects on transport costs and commodity prices. The refinery maintains that the revisions reflect prevailing market conditions and external cost factors beyond its control.