Energy
Another Round Of Fuel Crisis Looms, PMS Goes For N900/Litre
The streets of Lagos and Abuja, Nigeria’s economic and political capital cities, respectively, appear to be drifting into another round of energy crisis, with Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly called petrol, selling for N900/litre.
Biztellers reports that this follows the raising of ex-depot price of petrol from N630 to N720/litre by private depot owners.
The immediate response of petrol stations within the Lagos and Ogun States axis has been to declare scarcity, which has triggered panic among the populace.
It was gathered some dealers were reluctant to purchase products at the new rates from the private depots.
The National Vice President of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Hammed Fashola, was cited by The PUNCH as declaring that many filling stations did not open for business because they had no fuel in their tanks.
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According to Fashola, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, which is the sole importer of petrol at the moment, should explain to Nigerians what was happening with the product.
In his words, “Those that shut their stations do not have fuel to sell. When you don’t have fuel, you cannot open your station. That is the problem. You know the NNPC is the sole importer of this product. I think it is in the best position to tell us what is actually going on.
“Currently, independent marketers cannot buy what the private depots are selling. They are selling fuel between N715 and N720 per litre. How much will marketers sell the product? Look at the cost of bringing it to their depots; with transportation and other depot expenses, it will be too costly for them. That is why the stations are shut down.
“Some marketers refuse to go and buy because they know the masses cannot afford high-priced petrol in this economy. That is the situation for now.”
Biztellers reports that private depot owners, used to sell petrol to independent marketers at the rate of N630-650/litre, while the NNPC Ltd was selling to major marketers at a price below or around N600.
The pending negotiations between the IPMAN and the NNPC Ltd for direct supplies to its members has not borne fruits.
Biztellers gathered that the NNPC Ltd, instead of seeking a lasting solution was focused on a temporary reprieve by pressuring the private depots in Apapa to prioritise supply to Abuja to dispel mounting fuel queues.
Industry watchers are tracing the short supply to the Lagos and its environs, to the efforts to solve the queues mounting in the Abuja area by shifting supply focus there.
Energy watchers are concerned because the signals appeared too soon after the Reuters averred that Nigeria’s debt to PMS suppliers had surpassed $6bn, doubling the figure as at April. It traced the surge to NNPC Ltd’s failure to bridge the gap between fixed pump prices and international fuel costs.
The Reuters report had asserted that the crisis had long brewed with part of January imports, put between $4bn and $5bn still outstanding to suppliers.
The debt pile-up is being managed, according an unnamed industry source, with “the $250,000 a month (per cargo) for late payment compensation,” the PUNCH wrote.
Even at that, at least two suppliers were said to have stopped participating in recent tenders after hitting self-imposed debt exposure limits to Nigeria, meaning they would not supply more PMS until they receive payments.
As a consequence, Reuters noted, Nigeria’s tenders to buy gasoline in June and July were smaller.
The NNPC Ltd was expected to import via tender about 850,000 tonnes in July, according to the Reuters report quoting sources, down from the typical one million tonnes in previous months.
As that is brewing, some private depot owners have been showing reluctance to supply petrol to independent marketers, who own the larger percentage of the filling stations in Nigeria.
The depot owners on their part, claim they could only distribute what they were supplied by the sole importer, the NNPC Ltd.
One of the depot owners, was cite thus, “Currently, we focus on our filling stations. We get less than 50 per cent of what we usually get from the NNPC now.
So, we make sure we feed our stations first before we consider selling to independent marketers. That is why most of them are out of stock. You know they don’t have access to the NNPC and the little we get is not even enough for our stations,” by The PUNCH.
The IPMAN president had fingered the supply chain, “The current situation is a result of the way private depot owners have been selling their products. It has been very difficult for independent petroleum marketers to get the product and sell it in Abuja and neighbouring states, as well as in other states in the North.
“So the queues you are seeing now are because of the cost of PMS by private depots. The private depots are selling at N710/litre, but if you check the price of the same product at NNPC retail outlets, it is N617/litre.
“Therefore, by the time we independent marketers buy from private depots and bring it to our filling stations, we will not be able to sell our product because our cost price is already so high, while the cost at NNPC retail outlets is far lower.
“And you know that when we buy it at the rate of N710/litre we have to add transportation cost again because there is no equalisation. And when we add the cost of transportation, the pump price is going to be higher than the N710/litre ex-depot price, whereas NNPC stations sell at N617/litre.”
He maintained that the number of stations operated by IPMAN, meant that any distortion in the supply of products to its members would eventually lead to fuel queues because major marketers and NNPC stations are fewer.
The need to unlock Africa’s upstream potential has seen a call for stronger partnerships between governments, regulators, operators, and host communities.
General Manager (GM), Security, Government & External Relations at Oando Energy Resources, Kofo Olagunju, made the call during a panel discussion at the Africa Oil Week (AOW Energy) in Accra, Ghana.
The AOW held with the theme: “Building Dialogue, Leadership: Exploring the Challenges of Both Government and Private Sector Frameworks for Upstream Development,” Olagunju said such collaboration was critical to unlocking investment and driving sustainable growth across Africa’s upstream sector.
The discussion examined how African governments and private sector players can better align policies, regulatory frameworks, and commercial priorities to create the certainty required to attract investment and accelerate upstream development across the continent.
Olagunju argued that the relationship between regulators and operators must evolve beyond traditional oversight towards a more constructive partnership built on mutual understanding and shared responsibility.
“What we have seen in recent years is a growing recognition by both operators and regulators that we are ultimately working towards a shared objective.
Real progress requires genuine partnership, one in which regulators understand the operational realities and challenges faced by the industry, while operators remain mindful of the broader developmental and regulatory priorities governments are seeking to advance.”
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Olagunju, was joined on the panel by Cany Jobe, Director General, Petroleum Commission, The Gambia; IK Innocent Kihika, Board Member, Petroleum Authority of Uganda; Joe Kofi Mensah, Senior Vice President (SVP) & Head, Ghana Business Unit, Kosmos Energy; and Liz Ross, GM, New Ventures Exploration & M&A, Africa & Europe, CNOOC International.
From an investor perspective, Joe Kofi Mensah, SVP & Head, Ghana Business Unit, Kosmos Energy, outlined the conditions required to create an environment capable of attracting long-term capital. “Creating an environment that attracts and sustains investment requires four critical elements: regulatory stability, speed, ease of doing business, and competitive fiscal terms. These factors must work together to create the certainty investors need to commit capital for the long term.”
Addressing the regulatory perspective, Cany Jobe, Director General, Petroleum Commission, The Gambia, challenged the notion that governments must choose between protecting national interests and attracting investment. “Protecting national interests and enabling investment should not be viewed as competing objectives. A strong regulatory framework must achieve both, creating value for resource owners while providing investors with the clarity, predictability and commercial viability required to operate successfully.”
Turning to the role of host communities, Olagunju highlighted the shift towards deeper community participation in the success and sustainability of upstream operations. “Host communities have evolved from being neighbours to the resources, to stakeholders in the development process, and increasingly, to shareholders in the success of our operations.”
He stressed that sustainable operations depend on relationships that extend beyond regulatory compliance and transactional engagement. “For our operations to thrive, host communities must be integral partners in the journey. That requires more than compliance. It requires transparency, trust, and a shared understanding of the value that responsible resource development can create.”
The panel concluded with a call for African energy stakeholders to move beyond dialogue towards practical action, strengthening partnerships, and aligning regulatory and commercial frameworks to unlock responsible investment and long-term growth.
The AOW: Energy brings together African governments, energy companies, investors and industry stakeholders for critical dialogue on the opportunities and challenges shaping the continent’s upstream energy sector. Its 2026 edition provided a platform for dialogue on investment, policy, exploration, and the development of Africa’s energy resources.
Oando continues to bring its operational experience and indigenous perspective to critical industry conversations, advocating for the partnerships, policy certainty, and collaborative frameworks needed to unlock Africa’s energy potential, strengthen energy security, and deliver sustainable value for governments, investors, and host communities.
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has credited the NLNG/SEPNU with leading the rise in Nigeria’s domestic cooking gas supply, which peaked at 5,332 tonnes per day in July 2026.
The NMDPRA’s July 2026 midstream and downstream statistics showed that total liquefied petroleum gas supply increased from 5,100 tonnes per day in June to 5,332 tonnes per day in July.
The NLNG/SEPNU supplied 2,031 tonnes per day through vessels, representing about 38 per cent of the total supply during the month.
Other processing plants supplied 1,513 tonnes per day through trucks, while the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals (DPRP) supplied 829 tonnes per day.
Imports accounted for 959 tonnes per day.
The figures showed that domestic sources supplied 4,373 tonnes per day, representing about 82 percent of the total LPG supply in July, while imports accounted for the remaining 18 percent.
The July supply level was the highest recorded in the 13-month period covered by the NMDPRA data.
LPG supply stood at 4,500 tonnes per day in July 2025 before rising to 5,000 tonnes in August and declining to 3,900 tonnes in September last year.
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It subsequently increased to 4,500 tonnes in October, 5,000 tonnes in November and 5,200 tonnes in December.
In January 2026, supply stood at 5,100 tonnes per day before falling to 4,700 tonnes in February and March, 4,500 tonnes in April and 4,100 tonnes in May.
The supply level then rose to 5,100 tonnes per day in June before reaching 5,332 tonnes in July.
The latest figures indicate a continued strengthening of domestic LPG supply, with local sources now accounting for the bulk of the cooking gas available in the country.
However, our correspondent reports that LPG prices have yet to fall below the N1,000 per kilogramme level after the sudden surge in May.
Though prices have plunged from a high of N2,400/kg to between N1,300 and N1,600, depending on location.
The NLNG recently accused some marketers of contributing to the sharp rise in the price of cooking gas by buying liquefied petroleum gas from the company at prices between N800 and N900 per kilogramme and selling it for as much as N2,400/kg in the retail market.
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NLNG, Adeleye Falade, disclosed this during a recent media briefing in Lagos, where he attributed the price spike to supply shortages, artificial scarcity and distortions in the distribution chain rather than the company’s pricing.
According to him, when the retail price of LPG climbed to N2,400/kg, the NLNG was selling the product to buyers at between N800 and N900/kg. He said the price was supposed to be in the range of N1,000 to N1,200, going by the recommendation of the NMDPRA.
“When the product was being sold at N2,400 in the market, guess how much they (marketers) were lifting it from us? It was between N800 and N900 per kg. And NMDPRA recommended that by the time you put in transportation costs and all other things, it shouldn’t be selling more than N1,000, N1,100 or N1,200. So, there’s also some distortion that happened on the sales side, which I know the regulators are working on right now to get control of it,” he stated.
On Tuesday, renewed escalation of the conflict between the United States and Iran pressured oil prices to over $94/barrel.
Current hostilities which witnessed American air strikes on Iranian targets and triggered global concerns of disruption to crude supplies through the Strait of Hormuz.
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Brent crude rose $4.06, or 4.49 percent, to $94.55 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate gained $4.44, or 5.18 percent, to $90.20 a barrel. Murban crude also surged by $7.19, or 7.30 percent, to $105.60 a barrel, according to Oilprice.com.
The rally followed the United States’ fresh strikes on Iran, with Washington saying its forces had targeted the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps IRGC).
“Today (Tuesday) at 12 p.m. ET (1600 GMT), US forces began striking Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targets in Iran.
“The strikes follow recent attempted attacks by the IRGC against commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and against American service members deployed to the region,” the US Central Command said.
The latest attacks have raised fresh concerns about the security around the Strait of Hormuz, a critical route for global oil supplies. Oil prices had already risen following the exchange of attacks between the two countries over the weekend, while reports of attacks on tankers further fuelled supply concerns.
Reuters reported that two supertankers carrying Saudi oil were struck by unknown projectiles within minutes of each other while travelling outbound through the Strait of Hormuz late on Monday, according to shipping intelligence and tracking firms.
Following the reports, Brent crude futures, which were already up about two percent, jumped by almost another two percent.
Iran has also threatened to prevent oil exports from the Gulf if the US continues its attacks. “If the enemy wants us not to export oil from the Persian Gulf, no one will be able to export oil,” Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf was quoted as saying by Iranian media.
The renewed confrontation has heightened fears that the six-month-old conflict could escalate into a wider war and threaten crude supplies from the oil-rich Gulf region.
The conflict had previously shifted towards sanctions, blockades and economic pressure, but the latest exchange of attacks has raised concerns about a return to sustained military confrontation.
US President Donald Trump warned Iran that it would face a stronger response if it retaliated against the latest American strikes.The US strikes came after Iranian missiles were fired at two US air bases in Jordan in response to an earlier American attack on Iran’s Larak Island.
The latest escalation also coincided with plans by Washington to impose additional economic sanctions on Tehran. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said bank sanctions against Iran were likely to be announced this week and next, while warning that Washington would also target other entities doing business with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
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