*Dangote Refinery gets two UAE crude cargoes amid Gulf traffic return
Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja and Peter Uzoho in Lagos
Nigerians have continued to mount pressure on the Dangote Refinery, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) and fuel marketers to reduce petrol pump prices below N1,000 per litre, raising questions about the current rates of between N1,250–N1,360 despite oil price fall to $72.
This is as the Dangote refinery has purchased two cargoes of UAE crude, capitalising on returning oil supplies from the Middle East Gulf, according to a company source involved in the plant’s operations.According to S&P, the incoming tankers would be the first sourced by Dangote from any Middle Eastern supplier and will mark a pivot from the African and US grades favoured by the refinery to heavier crude baskets.
However, energy analysts have defended the continuous high pump prices, arguing that the disconnect is not price gouging but a structural lag caused by replacement cost, foreign exchange, and inventory already bought at higher prices.But across filling stations in the country, consumers are questioning why petrol remains above N1,200 per litre when crude is trading at pre-war levels, while the refinery and marketers were quick to raise prices within hours when prices escalated to as high as $120 per barrel.
