• Minister insists government would not allow marketers to exploit consumers through excessive pricing

● PETROAN Opposes IPMAN, Backs Minister on planned price intervention

Fuel marketers have warned they will shut down filling stations nationwide if the Federal Government attempts to impose price controls on petrol in Nigeria’s deregulated downstream petroleum sector.

The National Publicity Secretary of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Chinedu Ukadike, issued the warning on Tuesday while reacting to recent comments by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, on the need to curb profiteering in the sector.

Speaking at the 2026 General Counsel and Legal Advisers Forum organised by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) in Abuja on Monday, Lokpobiri said although petrol pricing had been deregulated, the government would not allow marketers to exploit consumers through excessive pricing.

He stressed that while market forces should determine fuel prices, regulatory agencies still had a responsibility under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) to prevent unnecessary profiteering and protect consumers.

The minister’s remarks followed concerns over the failure of petrol prices to decline significantly despite a sharp drop in global crude oil prices.

Responding, Ukadike rejected allegations that marketers were profiteering, insisting that many operators were instead recording heavy losses due to repeated reductions in depot prices, particularly by the Dangote Refinery.

He argued that enforcing price controls in a deregulated market would contradict the provisions of the PIA and discourage investment in the sector.

“If the government tries to enforce price control, we will shut down our filling stations nationwide. You cannot operate a deregulated market and at the same time dictate the price marketers should sell their products without considering the cost of purchase,” he said.

Ukadike explained that marketers often buy fuel at higher prices only for depot prices to fall before they can sell, leaving them with losses while still servicing bank loans used to finance purchases.

According to him, the solution to high petrol prices is not government intervention in pricing but increased competition through improved local refining capacity and expanded fuel importation.

He urged the Federal Government to focus on reviving domestic refineries and creating an environment that encourages competition, which he said would naturally drive down fuel prices.

Also reacting, the National President of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlet Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), Billy Gillis-Harry, said the minister had the authority to intervene in the interest of consumers but advised that any decision should be taken after consultations with stakeholders.

He called on the Minister of Petroleum Resources to convene an emergency meeting involving regulators, refiners and marketers to address the pricing concerns and arrive at solutions acceptable to all parties.

Meanwhile, the spokesperson for the NMDPRA, George Ene-Ita, said he had not been briefed on any planned regulatory action regarding fuel pricing.

Petrol currently sells for between ₦1,140 and ₦1,210 per litre across different parts of the country, depending on location.

…Culled from Platforms Africa

….Headline reworked by thetrustnews.com

Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) recorded a profit after tax of N462 billion for May 2026, its latest monthly report shows.
This represents a drop from the N481 billion recorded in April. The exact cause of this drop remains unclear as of press time.

The company, in its report summary released on today, highlighted key figures, including crude oil and condensate production, natural gas output, revenue, profit after tax, and strategic initiatives during the period.
In the report, the state-owned oil company posted a statutory payment of N4.86 trillion to the federation account within the first five months of 2026 (January to May).

The report also shows that the national oil company generated N4.33 trillion in revenue from oil, a decrease from N4.97 trillion it recorded in April.
According to the report, Nigeria’s crude oil and condensate production stood at 1.73 million barrels per day (bpd), up from April’s figure of 1.68 mbpd. Of this total, crude oil accounted for 1.47 mbpd, while condensates contributed 0.25 bpd.

Similarly, natural gas production was 7,774 mmscf/d in May, up from 7,730 mmscf/d in April. Gas sales stood at 4.921 bscf/d in May, down from 5.044 bscf/d in April.
The report further added that the petrol availability in its retail stations nationwide was 57 per cent in May, slightly up from 54 per cent in April, while the Obiafu-Obrikom-Oben Gas Pipeline project (OB3) hit 97 per cent completion, and the Ajaokuta- Kaduna- Kano (AKK) pipeline remained at 94 per cent completion, unmoved from the preceding month.

The NNPC said its strategic effort, including addressing well performance issues, reservoir pressure decline, lifting constraints, maintenance-related shutdowns, and facility reliability challenges, will reduce production deferments, improve asset availability and increase production.

The NNPC said the OB3 River Niger Crossing significantly progressed post pullback, precommissioning and tie-in works required to achieve commissioning of the full OB3 pipeline section by the end of Q3 2026.
The report said all production, sales and financial figures are provisional and subject to reconciliation with relevant stakeholders.

“Production improved in May due to higher asset reliability and uptime; however, output remained below target due to well performance issues (TEPNG), reservoir pressure constraints (Bonga), lifting-related curtailments (Nembe), and maintenance activities (Stardeep Agbami),” the report said.

To compliment its crude oil requirement volume, Dangote Refinery has purchased two cargoes of the commodity from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), marking its entry into the Middle Eastern crude market. The purchase underscores the refinery’s strategy to diversify supply ahead of its planned expansion to 1.4 million barrels per day.

According to S&P Global Commodity Insights, the purchase represents a significant shift for the refinery, which has traditionally sourced crude from the country, other African producers and the United States.

Although the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) supplies between 13 and 15 cargoes of crude monthly to Dangote under the federal government’s naira-for-crude arrangement, the refinery has increasingly turned to overseas suppliers because of insufficient domestic crude availability and operational bottlenecks at export terminals.

The latest purchase also follows improved stability in Middle Eastern oil exports after shipping through the Strait of Hormuz normalised following the easing of tensions between the United States and Iran, improving the availability of Gulf crude in international markets.

The diversification reflects both operational flexibility and commercial strategy. Middle Eastern crude grades are generally heavier than Nigeria’s light sweet blends and can improve refinery economics when blended with lighter barrels, giving refiners greater flexibility to optimise yields of diesel, jet fuel and other petroleum products.

The development comes despite gradual improvements in Nigeria’s oil production. According to OPEC’s latest Monthly Oil Market Report, Nigeria produced about 1.5 million barrels of crude oil per day in May, remaining below levels needed to comfortably meet export commitments while supplying growing domestic refining demand.

The Chief Executive Officer, Dangote Refinery, David Bird, had previously acknowledged that inadequate crude availability had compelled the refinery to source additional supplies from international markets.

“We definitely want to heavy up the barrel. We will be in the crude blending game. So you can easily imagine that at 1.4 million barrels per day we could process 30 per cent Middle Eastern grades on each train,” Bird said.

According to S&P Global Commodities at Sea data, about 70 per cent of the refinery’s crude imports in 2025 originated from Nigeria, while 24 per cent came from the United States.

According to sources in the facility, the refinery’s first purchase of Middle Eastern crude marks more than a routine cargo acquisition; it signals a strategic shift towards a more diversified global sourcing model.