Nigeria’s most populous market now features cheaper locally refined fuel as the spot landed cost of imported petrol climbs to N1,223.32 per litre, outpacing the Dangote refinery’s gantry price of N1,215. The price inversion highlights a broader shift toward domestic supply amid rising global crude prices and foreign exchange pressures.
Spot Landed Costs Outpace Dangote Gantry Pricing
Recent statistics from the Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria (MEMAN) show that the spot landed cost of imported Premium Motor Spirit reached N1,223.32 per litre on July 29. This figure surpasses the Dangote refinery’s gantry price of N1,215 per litre, marking a notable shift where merchants pay more to import petrol than to acquire it locally from the 650,000 barrel-per-day Lekki facility.
MEMAN’s Energy Bulletin attributes the rising import expenses to a combination of international and domestic financial pressures. During the review period, Brent crude averaged $90 per barrel, while the naira traded at an average exchange rate of N1,367.03 to the US dollar. These factors have driven up the cost of importing refined petroleum products across the board.
The price inversion extends beyond petrol. Imported diesel landed at N1,739.96 per litre, up from a 30-day average of N1,427.00 per litre, while aviation fuel climbed to N1,616.43 per litre from an earlier average of N1,421.10 per litre. According to the MEMAN report, Dangote’s coastal PMS pricing was N1,195 per litre, with the gantry price holding at N1,215 per litre inclusive of regulatory duties.
Marketers Import Via Lome Hub While Dangote Exports Globally
Even as domestic production expands, a circular trade pattern persists in the region. Nigerian fuel marketers are increasingly importing refined products originating from the Dangote refinery through the offshore ship-to-ship trading hub in Lome, Togo. Speaking at a MEMAN webinar, S&P Global Energy official Matthew Tracey-Cook explained that Dangote volumes on a coastal basis do arrive back in Lagos from Lomé.
Data presented during the webinar indicated that Dangote-origin products became dominant in waterborne deliveries to Lagos and other Nigerian locations. Over the last six months, if you look at the volume of products on a waterborne basis that’s imported directly into Nigeria, Dangote production has become increasingly dominant,
Tracey-Cook said, noting particularly strong performance between March and May 2026 when well over 70 to 80 per cent of imported volumes originated from Dangote coastal cargoes that were re-imported.
The Lome hub serves as a flexible transshipment point where larger medium-range tankers discharge cargoes that are subsequently transferred onto smaller coaster vessels. This process accommodates West African ports with limited infrastructure capacity. Tracey-Cook characterized the FOB Dangote market and the STS Lomé market as the two largest regional supply pillars.
Meanwhile, the disruption caused by the US-Iran conflict has amplified Dangote’s role as a supplier of last resort. With Persian Gulf jet fuel supplies cut off, benchmark prices surged past $1,800 per metric tonne. What we saw in the months after the war broke out was an increasing flow of product from the US, but also a large flow of product from Dangote,
Tracey-Cook noted, adding that Dangote emerged as the largest single exporter of jet fuel globally in May 2026, with record exports reaching the UK, the Netherlands, and South Africa.
Calls for Fuel Import Bans and Industry Debates
The narrowing price gap has intensified calls from domestic industry groups for regulatory intervention. The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has reiterated its push for the Federal Government to ban fuel imports entirely, arguing that domestic refining capacity can fully satisfy local demand.
Chinedu Ukadike, IPMAN’s National Publicity Secretary, stated that continuing imports despite substantial local supply places unnecessary strain on foreign exchange reserves and diminishes the market share of domestic refiners. He also noted that newly authorized import licenses have failed to lower retail prices because imported cargoes remain more expensive than locally refined alternatives.
These pricing dynamics build on tensions observed in late 2025, when local fuel importers alleged that the Dangote refinery sold petrol to international traders at a lower price than what was offered to domestic marketers inside Nigeria. With spot landed costs of imports now exceeding gantry prices, market participants face a rapidly evolving economic landscape across the downstream sector.
Keep reading