Fuel price drop looms as refinery restart hopes rise

Petroleum product marketers and retailers have hinted at a possible fresh petrol price drop as Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, partners with Chinese firms to restart Port Harcourt and Warri refineries.

It was reported that after a long wait, NNPCL on April 30, 2026, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Sanjiang Chemical Company and Xinganchen (Fuzhou) Industrial Park Operation and Management Co., Limited, to support the completion of Port Harcourt and Warri refineries.

Recall that in May last year, the Port Harcourt refinery was shut down for scheduled maintenance.

Since then, the state-owned refinery, together with Warri and Kaduna, has remained closed despite gulping around $18 billion and $25 billion on rehabilitation for the last two decades. Dangote Refinery, a private-owned plant in Lagos, became the lifeline.

While debate on the sustainability of the Nigerian refineries has remained critical, the Bayo Ojulari-led NNPCL’s recent move with Chinese firms leaves more expectations in the minds of stakeholders and Nigerians.

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This becomes more important as the over two months old Middle East crisis leaves Nigeria and global economies in a precarious state.

The ripple effect of the Iran-United States-Israel war has made crude oil and domestic petrol prices double.

Brent AND West Texas Intermediate stood at $112 and $104 per barrel, respectively, as domestic fuel rose to between N1,364 and N1,380 per liter from around N800 per liter in Abuja.

Increased petrol prices have pushed transportation costs up in Nigeria in the last two months, further worsening the economic hardship for many Nigerians.

Speaking on the development, the national president of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria, Billy Gillis-Harry, said the restart of Nigerian refineries with NNPCL and Chinese firms’ MoU implementation would boost in-country refined product refining, adding that higher competition of local refined petroleum products will shoot down the prices.

“What we know is that the more refined products we get from any country, the higher the competition, driving down the price of any refined product, whether it’s PMS, AGO, aviation petrol, or any other. So it’s a good project.

“It’s been a long time coming, but now it’s there, so we are happy that this has happened.”

Give incentive to Nigerians, marketers — IPMAN tells FG

On his part, spokesperson of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, Chinedu Ukadike, while noting that the restart of Nigerian refineries is most important at this time, urged the Nigerian government to roll out incentives for Nigerians and marketers to cushion the impact of petrol price volatility.

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“Provide incentives for motorists and also marketers in terms of funding. At that level marketers will reduce their prices at the pumps.

“Again, the Nigerian government refineries should be restarted to be able to boost in-country refining.”