The Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Bayo Ojulari, has assured Nigerians that the ongoing price competition in the downstream petroleum sector will ultimately favour consumers.
Ojulari said the current market tensions were a natural outcome of Nigeria’s transition from full import dependence to domestic refining, insisting that competition would stabilise prices over time.
“Where there is healthy competition, the buyers are the ultimate beneficiaries. The market will stabilise,” Ojulari told journalists on Sunday after briefing President Bola Tinubu in Lagos.
PUNCH Online reports that his remarks come amid an intense price war that has seen petrol prices fall from over N1,200 per litre in November 2024 to as low as N739 per litre in December 2025, driven largely by competition between the Dangote Refinery, NNPCL and independent marketers.
“At the end of the day, Nigerians on the street are going to be the beneficiaries,” he said.
NNPCL Not a Regulator – Ojulari
Clarifying NNPCL’s role in the deregulated market, Ojulari stressed that the company no longer determines petrol prices nor regulates the sector under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
“The PIA fundamentally separated regulation from business. Post-PIA, we as NNPC are not regulators,” he explained.
According to him, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA)oversees downstream and midstream regulation, while the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) handles upstream operations.
Ojulari noted that the PIA transformed NNPCL into a commercial entity expected to compete and operate profitably, adding that the company no longer receives federation allocations and must raise financing independently.
Dangote Refinery Intensifies Competition
Nigeria’s downstream sector has experienced fierce competition since September 2024, when the 650,000-barrel-per-day Dangote Refinery began local petrol production.
Data from the National Bureau of Statistics shows that the average pump price of Premium Motor Spirit fell by N153 per litre between November 2024 and November 2025, dropping from N1,214.17 to N1,061.35.
The competition escalated sharply in December 2025 when Dangote cut its ex-depot price from N970 to N699 per litre, forcing rivals to slash prices to retain market share.
Dangote’s retail partner, MRS, began selling petrol at N739 per litre, while NNPC retail outlets reduced prices to between N825 and N840 per litre, depending on location. Independent marketers followed, with prices dipping as low as N865 per litre in some areas.
Data from Petroleumprice.ng shows Dangote made over 20 price adjustments in 2025 alone.
Marketers Under Pressure
The rapid price reductions have placed significant pressure on marketers who purchased petrol at higher prices.
The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria confirmed that price competition now determines customer loyalty, warning that marketers who fail to adjust prices risk losing customers while facing rising bank interest costs.
NNPCL as Supplier of Last Resort
Ojulari described NNPCL as the “supplier of last resort”, working with all major players, including the Dangote Refinery—where NNPCL has an equity stake—to ensure product availability.
He said NNPCL’s priority is to increase crude oil production to feed domestic refineries and enhance downstream flexibility.
Production Growth, AKK Pipeline Progress
Ojulari revealed that Nigeria’s oil production rose from 1.5 million barrels per day in 2024 to over 1.7 million barrels per day in 2025, while gas production increased from 6.5 billion to over 7 billion standard cubic feet per day.
He said NNPCL is targeting 1.8 million barrels per day in 2026, as part of President Tinubu’s goal of reaching 2 million barrels per day by 2027 and attracting $30bn in new investments by 2030.
The NNPCL boss also disclosed that the company has completed welding of the 614-kilometre Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano (AKK) gas pipeline, including the long-delayed River Niger crossing.
The pipeline is expected to be commissioned in early 2026, supplying gas for power generation, fertiliser plants and industrial development across northern Nigeria.
Joshua Chinonye ✔
Joshua Chinonye is the Energy Editor at Naija247news, covering Nigeria’s oil, gas, and power sectors. He reports on energy policy, market trends, and sustainability with a focus on informing public discourse and decision-makers.
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