'N720/Litre' - NNPC speak on reported petrol price increase as landing costs rise

The Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) has debunked the report of an impending petrol price increase in Nigeria.

The company stated on its X page, formerly Twitter, that it does not intend any price increase as widely speculated.

"Dear esteemed customers, we at NNPC Retail value your patronage, and we do not intend to increase our PMS pump prices as widely speculated," the company said.

The report comes as many petroleum product depots are currently deserted due to exchange rate volatility.

Depot price rises to N720 per litre

The development also follows an increase in petrol's landing cost, which has risen to about N720 per litre at most depots.

Punch reports that oil marketers reported the increase on Thursday, October 5, 2023.

Dealers also revealed that filling stations were shutting down in large numbers as it was becoming challenging to run business, saying that the situation could lead to scarcity in the coming months.

Findings reveal that the landing cost of petrol into Nigeria has risen to N720 per litre from N651 per litre in August 2023.


Marketers lament the scarcity of forex to import petrol

Benneth Korie revealed on Thursday, October 5, 2023, at the National Executive Council Meeting of the Natural Oil and Gas Suppliers Association of Nigeria that many depots were out of supplies.

According to Korie, depot owners are severely affected by the high cost of crude oil and Forex volatility, leading to many depots being deserted as they could not secure loans to fund their operations due to high-interest rates.

Korie said: "Banks are unwilling to guarantee funds release to stakeholders due to the difficulty, instability and galloping rates of foreign exchange and high dollar cost. Many depots are presently dried up or out of stock, and this is no gainsaying as it is verifiable."

He said the most severely affected are petrol stations whose owners need help to obtain funds to purchase products for their retail outlets.