Nigeria's downstream oil sector has experienced a reversal in petrol pricing, with private depot owners raising the ex-depot price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS, or petrol) to ₦800 per litre across major locations.
The increase comes after the Dangote Petroleum Refinery temporarily shut down its primary petrol-producing unit for scheduled maintenance and upgrades.
Following a short-lived price softening on December 23–24, 2025, when ex-depot rates were ₦725/litre in Lagos (at depots like Nipco, Rainoil, and Aiteo) and ₦754–₦773/litre in Port Harcourt, Warri, and Calabar, most major depots have now settled at ₦800/litre as of late December 2025 and early January 2026.
The surge is tied directly to the planned turnaround maintenance at the Dangote Refinery, where the Residue Fluid Catalytic Cracker (RFCC) the key gasoline unit has been taken offline.
The Crude Distillation Unit (CDU) is also scheduled for a brief shutdown in early January 2026.
The maintenance is strategic, aimed at removing bottlenecks and increasing capacity, rather than addressing an emergency.
Devakumar Edwin, Vice President of Dangote Industries, stated to S&P Global's Platts: “In most departments, our production levels have gone beyond 100%. We just need to remove constraints to raise overall output.”
The upgrades are expected to elevate the CDU capacity from 650,000 barrels per day to 700,000 bpd, paving the way for higher sustained production at the world's largest single-train refinery.
While the temporary shutdown may add short-term upward pressure on retail prices, the enhancements could help stabilize supply and potentially moderate prices once full operations resume in early 2026.
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