IPMAN Says Nigeria Fuel Uncertainty Spurs Marketers to Pause Petrol Buying

Independent fuel marketers in Nigeria have pulled back on petrol purchases, while some filling stations have temporarily closed amid uncertainty over pricing, the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) said. The industry group pointed to a disruption at the Dangote Refinery, where petrol loading was suspended earlier this month, tightening supply and lifting the cost of fuel drawn from private storage depots.

How the disruption unfolded

1. IPMAN said many marketers stopped buying petrol as confusion spread over the direction of fuel prices.
2. The association linked the market strain to the suspension of petrol loading at the Dangote Refinery, which it dated to about four days before IPMAN’s comments.
3. With the refinery not selling petrol for that period, marketers increasingly sourced fuel from private depot operators at higher ex-depot prices.
4. IPMAN said ex-depot rates were between N1,200 and N1,220 per litre, excluding transportation charges, contributing to higher costs for stations.
5. As depot price swings intensified, IPMAN reported that some stations experienced fuel shortages and others shut temporarily.
6. The group said many marketers whose inventory had been depleted were waiting to see whether prices would ease after the Dangote Refinery resumed sales.
7. Meanwhile, IPMAN said only a limited number of buyers were still purchasing, reflecting the prevailing uncertainty about pricing and availability.

IPMAN’s assessment and pricing warning

Speaking in Ibadan on Sunday, IPMAN’s Western Zone chairman, Oyewole Akanni, said the partial shutdown of stations and fuel unavailability were tied to fluctuations in the cost of lifting petrol from depots. He added that since the Dangote Refinery stopped selling petrol (PMS) roughly four days earlier, private depot owners raised their prices, which then fed into retail pump availability.

Akanni stressed that the situation should not be treated as a true fuel shortage. “There is no fuel scarcity. Members of the public should not panic,” he said, while also warning that pump prices could climb further if the disruption continued.

He further said the refinery had not provided marketers with an explanation for pausing sales. Akanni noted that four truckloads of petrol earmarked for his association’s stations remained at the refinery after loading was halted, underscoring how the stoppage had immediate implications for downstream distribution.

IPMAN said the pricing volatility had created uncertainty across the market, but it expressed hope that normal supply would restart once the issue at the Dangote Refinery is resolved.