Abuja: The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has announced that the recent indicative gantry price for aviation fuel released by Dangote Refinery is set to ensure market stability and compliance by marketers.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, Mr. George Ene-Ita, the Director of Public Affairs at NMDPRA, made this known during an interview in Abuja. Ene-Ita addressed the ongoing concerns surrounding the pricing and high cost of Aviation Turbine Kerosene (ATK), commonly referred to as aviation fuel or Jet A1 fuel. The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has fixed its gantry price of ATK at N1,820 per litre, a move intended to enhance transparency within the sector.
This pricing development emerges amidst widespread concern among Nigerians and airline operators over the escalating costs of aviation fuel and its significant impact on the aviation industry. In a bid to ensure market stability and fair pricing, and to alleviate the pressure on airline operators and passengers, NMDPRA had previously set a Jet fuel price cap for marketers, mandating direct sales to airlines.
NMDPRA’s directive specified that the cost of Jet A1 fuel for end-users should range between N1,760 and N1,988 per litre in Lagos, and N1,809 to N2,037 per litre in Abuja. However, despite this advisory guidance, oil marketers have persisted in selling aviation fuel to airlines at prices starting from N2,230 per litre, intensifying concerns throughout Nigeria’s aviation sector.
Ene-Ita emphasized that although petroleum product prices have been deregulated, the latest indicative gantry price for ATK shared by Dangote Refinery would bolster NMDPRA’s monitoring efforts. He explained, “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.”
Ene-Ita acknowledged the significance of Dangote Refinery’s pricing strategy as a concession to help ease overhead cost pressures within the aviation sector, thereby preventing operational disruptions. “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 stated.
The News Agency of Nigeria further reports that the NMDPRA pricing framework was derived from Platts average figures recorded between April 17 and 23, reflecting prevailing global oil market conditions. The regulator clarified that while these benchmarks provide guidance for fair pricing, actual market prices may fluctuate beyond the stated range due to purchase timing and external factors. A significant contributor to the recent hike in aviation fuel prices is the heightened global volatility driven by geopolitical tensions, including the ongoing U.S.-Iran crisis.