Petrol Depot Prices Surge Near N1,000 Per Litre, New Rates Emerge in Lagos, Abuja, Others
- Nigeria's petrol depot prices near N1,000 per litre following new adjustments by Dangote Petroleum Refinery
- Middle East tensions escalate, pushing global crude prices above $80 per barrel and affecting local consumers
- PETROAN warns of inflation risks as Nigeria remains vulnerable due to reliance on imported refined petroleum products
Pascal Oparada is a journalist with Legit.ng, covering technology, energy, stocks, investment, and the economy for over a decade.
Petrol depot prices across Nigeria have surged close to N1,000 per litre, triggering fresh concerns among motorists and businesses already battling rising costs.
Findings from PetroleumPriceNG on Tuesday, March 3, 2026, show that private depot prices have moved from the N800 range to above N900 per litre within days.
Source: Getty Images
The sharp increase followed a new gantry price adjustment announced by the Dangote Petroleum Refinery on Monday, March 2.
The refinery raised its ex-depot price by N100, moving from N774 to N874 per litre. That adjustment immediately influenced private depots and retail outlets nationwide.
In Lagos, BONO depot sold petrol at N900 per litre, while Matrix Lagos also quoted N900. TSL pushed its rate to N910 per litre, and Matrix Port Harcourt sold at N940 per litre.
The steady rise at the depot level has now filtered through to filling stations, where pump prices are climbing sharply.
Filling stations adjust pump prices
Retail outlets in major cities have wasted no time revising their pump prices upward. In Abuja, some stations operated by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited adjusted prices from N875 to N960 per litre.
In Lagos, checks along Ogunnusi Road showed that NNPC retail stations were not dispensing fuel at the time of inspection, while independent marketers had already revised prices to reflect the new realities.
A Bovas filling station, for instance, increased its pump price from N835 to N935 per litre.
With depot prices inching toward N1,000, industry watchers warn that retail pump prices could soon cross that threshold if global conditions remain unstable.
Middle East tensions shake oil market
Energy analysts attribute the latest spike to escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East involving the United States, Israel, and Iran. The crisis has rattled global supply chains and driven up crude oil benchmarks.
Brent Crude climbed above $80 per barrel on Monday and was trading around $84.2 per barrel at the time of reporting. Analysts caution that prices could exceed $100 per barrel if disruptions persist.
Although higher crude prices may boost Nigeria’s oil revenue, the downside is immediate for consumers. Since the deregulation of the downstream sector, petrol prices are largely influenced by global crude rates and foreign exchange movements.
Any sustained increase in crude prices translates directly to higher domestic pump prices.
PETROAN raises alarm
The Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria has expressed concern over the growing crisis, warning that Nigeria remains highly vulnerable due to its reliance on imported refined petroleum products.
In a statement signed by its National Public Relations Officer, Dr. Joseph Obele, the association’s National President, Dr. Billy Gillis-Harry, described the Middle East conflict as a significant threat to energy-importing nations.
He noted that instability around the Strait of Hormuz, a critical oil transit route, poses serious risks to global supply chains.
About 20 percent of the world’s crude oil shipments pass daily through the corridor, making any disruption potentially catastrophic for oil-dependent economies.
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Middle East crisis: Oil, gas, petrol prices surge as energy installations come under attack
According to PETROAN, prolonged tension could intensify pressure on Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves, drive up transportation costs, and worsen inflation.
Calls for local refining and policy stability
To cushion the impact, marketers are urging the federal government to sustain the Naira-for-Crude policy to reduce dependence on foreign exchange for petroleum imports.
They also called for the accelerated rehabilitation and full operationalisation of Nigeria’s four state-owned refineries.
Strengthening local refining capacity, they argued, would significantly cut import dependence and shield the economy from external shocks.
For now, motorists across Lagos, Abuja, and other cities are bracing for further price increases as uncertainty lingers in the global oil market.
If tensions in the Middle East continue, the era of sub-N900 petrol may soon be a thing of the past.
Source: Getty Images
Lagos tops 10 states with costliest diesel price
Legit.ng earlier reported that the National Bureau of Statistics has announced that the average retail price paid by consumers for Automotive Gas Oil (Diesel) stood at N1,361.57 per litre in January 2026.
This represents a 9.32% decrease compared with N1,501.58 recorded in January 2025.
On a month-on-month basis, the average retail price declined by 2.86% from N1,401.63 in December 2025.
Source: Legit.ng
