NMDPRA warns marketers, backs Dangote’s ₦1,820 Jet A1 price

Goli Innocent 

Lagos — The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority has warned oil marketers against arbitrary pricing of aviation fuel, saying it will intensify market surveillance as Dangote Refinery’s new Jet A1 gantry price of ₦1,820 per litre begins to reset pricing expectations in the sector.

The regulator said the new indicative price released by Dangote Refinery would strengthen transparency in the aviation fuel market and support efforts to check excessive pricing by marketers who have continued to sell above advisory levels despite earlier guidance.

Director of Public Affairs at NMDPRA, George Ene-Ita, said the authority would use the refinery’s published gantry price as a pricing reference during nationwide compliance checks on marketers and operators.

“All petroleum product prices have been deregulated. However, with particular emphasis on ATK, the Dangote refinery, having released its latest indicative gantry prices, which they promised to publish daily going forward, will enable us to ensure tacit compliance by marketers and operators during our routine surveillance operations nationwide,” he said.

Dangote Refinery had fixed its gantry price for Aviation Turbine Kerosene, also known as Jet A1, at ₦1,820 per litre, a move expected to ease mounting pressure on airlines struggling with high fuel costs and rising operating expenses.

Before the latest price announcement, the NMDPRA had directed that Jet A1 should sell within an advisory range of ₦1,760 to ₦1,988 per litre in Lagos and ₦1,809 to ₦2,037 per litre in Abuja, but many marketers continued to sell above those thresholds, with some prices rising to ₦2,230 per litre.

Ene-Ita said the regulator was not unaware of the strain high aviation fuel prices had placed on airline operators, adding that Dangote’s decision to publish daily gantry prices would improve market visibility and help curb pricing abuses.

“We are not unmindful of the fact that what the Dangote Refinery is doing is a concession to help ease overhead cost pressures in the aviation sector in order not to truncate its operations. So, we will play our part to see that Nigerians benefit from the gesture,” he said.

The authority said its advisory pricing template was based on Platts average figures recorded between April 17 and April 23, but noted that global oil volatility, especially supply disruptions tied to geopolitical tensions, continues to shape aviation fuel costs in Nigeria.

NMDPRA said it would deepen market surveillance to ensure the benefit of the new pricing is not wiped out by excessive mark-ups, as pressure mounts to lower operating costs for airlines and reduce the burden on passengers.