Petrol Depot Prices Hit N1,900 Per Litre In Port Harcourt As Marketers Raise Rates

 

Petrol depot prices rose across Lagos, Port Harcourt, Warri and Calabar on Friday, with several marketers in Port Harcourt increasing their prices to N1,900 per litre, amid mixed movements in international oil prices and varying pump prices across retail outlets.

NIPCO led the increases in Port Harcourt, raising its Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) price by N170 to N1,900 per litre from N1,730. Six other depots also raised their prices by N150 to the same level.

African Terminal, Ascon, Eterna, Gulf Treasure, Ibachem and Ibeto increased their petrol prices from N1,750 to N1,900 per litre.

Duport and Integrated, however, raised their prices by N56, from N1,750 to N1,806 per litre.

In Lagos, Masters increased its petrol price to N1,350 per litre from N1,303, while Matrix raised its rate to N1,360 from N1,330.

Sigmund and T.S.L increased their prices from N1,300 to N1,350 per litre, while NIPCO raised its rate from N1,326 to N1,350.

In Calabar, Matrix increased its price to N1,370 per litre from N1,315. In Warri, Keonamex, Matrix, Nepal and Parker raised their prices from N1,315 to N1,360 per litre, while Optima increased its rate from N1,330 to N1,360.

At the retail end, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited sold petrol at N1,360 per litre at its filling stations in Lagos and surrounding areas.

MRS Oil Nigeria Plc sold the product at N1,338 per litre, while 11 Plc charged N1,338.80. Independent marketers sold petrol for between N1,368 and N1,400 per litre, depending on location.

The price differences meant that motorists buying from MRS and 11 Plc paid less than customers patronising some independent marketers, whose prices reached N1,400 per litre.

The divergent prices highlight differences across the downstream supply chain, as depot rates increased in several locations while some filling stations continued to sell petrol below the prices charged by independent retailers.

The diesel market also recorded notable increases, particularly in Warri, where Rain Oil and Matrix raised their Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) prices by N180 to N1,900 per litre from N1,720.

In Port Harcourt, Dangote increased its diesel price from N1,702 to N1,720 per litre, while Masters raised its rate from N1,788 to N1,825.

Sustained increases in diesel prices could further raise operating costs for manufacturers, transport operators and businesses that depend on diesel for electricity generation and transportation.

The latest domestic price movements coincided with gains in some international oil benchmarks. Brent crude rose to $104.50 per barrel from $104.28, while the United States benchmark, West Texas Intermediate (WTI), increased to $91.73 from $91.49.

The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Basket also rose to $109.50 per barrel from $108.59, while WTI Midland climbed to $92.74 from $92.32.

Natural gas prices increased to $3.235 from $3.168, while the Indian Basket rose to $121.10 per barrel from $117.63.

However, Murban crude fell to $108.50 per barrel from $110.49. Among refined products, gasoline declined to $3.293 from $3.316, while heating oil dropped to $4.724 from $4.883.

The mixed movements across international benchmarks suggest that crude oil price gains alone may not fully explain the latest increases in domestic depot prices. Replacement costs, supply conditions, transportation expenses and individual marketers’ pricing decisions may also influence local rates.

Commenting on the developments, the Chief Executive Officer of Petroleumprice.ng, Olatide Jeremiah, said the domestic downstream sector remained sensitive to developments in the global oil market.

“Despite domestic issues and development in Nigeria, the downstream sector would continue to respond or react to developments at the global oil market,” Jeremiah said.

With petrol reaching N1,900 per litre at several depots in Port Harcourt and diesel hitting the same level in Warri, the latest increases underscore continuing price pressures in Nigeria’s downstream petroleum market, alongside significant differences between wholesale and retail rates.