Nigeria’s crude grade, Bonny Light traded 8.3 per cent higher in January; statistics from the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries have shown.
OPEC’s MOMR for February revealed that Bonny Light went from $74.22 per barrel in December to $80.14 per cent in January, representing an 8 per cent growth from 5.50 per cent recorded in December 2024.
This is as the country’s crude oil production witnessed a marginal increase in January.
Crude oil production went from 1.485 million barrels per day in December to 1.539mb/d in January, according to direct sources’ statistics provided by OPEC.
The development comes on the heels of ongoing competition by the federal government through the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), and the Dangote Refinery for the Premium Motor Spirit market control.
The national oil company had in December, reduced the ex-depot price of PMS from N1,020 to N899 in Lagos, and N970 in other states.
In response, Dangote in a statement said it would absorb a N16bn loss by refunding N65/litre to marketers so Nigerians will benefit from cheaper fuel.
The statement signed on Sunday said it will refund customers who purchase Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) at rates higher than the advertised prices from any of its key partners – AP (Ardova Plc), Heyden, or MRS – across Nigeria.
This move follows the refinery’s recent reduction of its gantry price from N890 per litre to N825 per litre.
The refinery stated that this is part of its ongoing efforts to ensure that Nigerians are the primary beneficiaries of the price reduction and in line with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which aims to stimulate the economy.
The refinery confirmed it will refund N65 per litre on the over 200,000 metric tonnes of PMS purchased by marketers at the old gantry price of N890 per litre, before the new rate of N825 per litre.
