Dangote refinery begins petrol sales in US dollars

 


Dangote Petroleum Refinery has transitioned to dollar-denominated transactions for its refined products, setting the ex-depot price of Premium Motor Spirit at $0.779 per litre. The newly unveiled pricing template also raises the benchmark rates for Automotive Gas Oil and Aviation Turbine Kerosene. This transition brings an end to naira payments for the purchase of refined petroleum products from the facility, an arrangement that originally commenced on October 1, 2024, under the domestic naira-for-crude deal. The adjustment signifies a substantial pivot in the commercial operations of the refinery and is expected to influence pricing structures within the deregulated downstream oil sector of Nigeria, where the plant stands as the primary domestic supplier.

Under the revised template, which became effective on Monday, July 13, 2026, the cost of diesel has been fixed at $1.087 per litre while aviation fuel stands at $0.942 per litre. Furthermore, coastal deliveries of petrol have been priced at $1,044.62 per metric tonne. The refinery communicated these adjustments through an official notice sent to petroleum marketers and customers, declaring that all previous gantry and coastal transactions completed via naira-denominated Proforma Invoices and Deal Recaps are no longer valid.

The official circular signed by the Group Commercial Operations of the refinery stated, "Following our email on the 9th of July, 2026, regarding the transition from Naira to United States Dollars, please note that all issued Naira Coastal and Gantry PFIs/Deal Recaps are now invalid, and no payments should be made against them. The applicable USD prices for each product, effective today, July 13, 2026, are provided below." The company clarified that the new dollar payment structure excludes certain products, stating, "Also note that this transition to USD does not apply to LPG transactions,"

Investigations show that the migration to a dollar-denominated pricing system is intended to balance product sales with the currency utilized to purchase a large percentage of the crude oil feedstock for the refinery. Sources familiar with the operational shift revealed that the management enacted the uniform pricing framework to address a growing imbalance between the expenditure currency for crude and the revenue currency for refined products. An official noted that the facility currently gets a significantly higher volume of its crude oil supplies from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited through dollar-denominated contracts, whereas the subsequent refined fuel was sold to local buyers in naira, creating a mismatch that exposed the refinery to severe foreign exchange risks.

Another source explained that the refinery receives fewer naira-based crude cargoes from the state oil firm when compared to dollar-based supplies. This imbalance, coupled with the volatility of international oil metrics and persistent exchange rate fluctuations, necessitated the shift to dollar benchmarks for refined outputs. The policy change holds profound consequences for local oil marketers who rely on direct purchases from the refinery for national distribution networks, as fuel pricing in the downstream market will now depend heavily on global crude movements and foreign exchange realities. Although the refinery previously operated under the federal domestic crude supply initiative to minimize pressure on foreign exchange and stabilize local pump prices, implementation hurdles over recent months have caused a significant portion of crude deliveries to revert to dollar transactions. Ultimately, the retail pump price of petrol across Nigeria will depend on the prevailing naira-to-dollar exchange rate alongside transportation margins, logistical expenses, and regulatory levies.


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