The Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Bayo Ojulari, has assured Nigerians that the ongoing petrol price competition will eventually work in favour of consumers.
Ojulari gave the assurance on Sunday after briefing President Bola Tinubu in Lagos, saying the current tension in the downstream petroleum sector is part of Nigeria’s transition from fuel importation to local refining.
“Where there is healthy competition, the buyers are the ultimate beneficiaries. And I think for us, we need to keep our minds that the market will stabilise,” he said.
“After a while, there’ll be some tension, because we’re going through a major transition.”
His comments come amid a sharp drop in petrol prices across the country, driven by intense competition between Dangote Refinery, NNPCL and independent marketers.
Petrol prices, which sold for over N1,200 per litre in November 2024, have fallen to as low as N739 per litre at some filling stations in December 2025.
“At the end of the day, I can tell you that Nigerians on the street are going to be the beneficiaries,” Ojulari added.
Clarifying NNPCL’s role in the deregulated market, the NNPCL boss stressed that the company no longer fixes prices or regulates the sector under the Petroleum Industry Act.
“The first thing you have to know is that the PIA did something fundamental. Before the PIA in 2021, everything was under NNPC, including some regulations,” he said.
“The PIA divided the roles of regulation from what I will call the business.”
He explained that regulatory responsibilities now lie with other agencies.
“The NMDPRA is responsible for all downstream and midstream regulation, while the NUPRC handles upstream regulation,” Ojulari said.
“So it’s very important that Nigerians understand that post-PIA, we as NNPC are not regulators.”
Ojulari said NNPCL now operates strictly as a commercial entity.
“The PIA instituted NNPC to become a commercial company, which means a company that needs to compete profitably and be successful profitably,” he stated.
He also disclosed that the company no longer receives federation allocations.
“We now raise our finance independently, like any other business,” he said.
Nigeria’s downstream sector became highly competitive after Dangote Refinery began local petrol production in September 2024.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the average retail price of petrol dropped by N153 per litre between November 2024 and November 2025, falling from N1,214.17 to N1,061.35.
The price war intensified in December 2025 when Dangote Refinery reduced its ex-depot price from N970 to N699 per litre.
Following the cut, MRS filling stations, Dangote’s retail partner, began selling at N739 per litre nationwide, while NNPCL retail outlets dropped prices to between N825 and N840 per litre, depending on location. Independent marketers also adjusted prices, with some selling at N865 per litre.
Data from Petroleumprice.ng showed that Dangote Refinery adjusted prices more than 20 times in 2025.
The sudden reductions have created challenges for marketers who bought petrol at higher prices.
Confirming this, the Marketers Association of Nigeria said price competition now determines customer loyalty.
Its spokesperson, Chinedu Ukadike, said, “Any marketer unwilling to adjust prices risks losing patronage and facing mounting bank interest costs.”
Ojulari described NNPCL as the “supplier of last resort,” adding that the company works closely with all major players, including Dangote Refinery.
“For us as NNPC, our focus is to generate more production. As we generate more production, we believe there’ll be more supply to feed the refineries,” he said.
He acknowledged that the presence of large refineries has disrupted the market.
“To be honest with you, when you have a refinery like Dangote in-country, which has not been there before, and NNPC refineries under relook, the market will be impacted,” Ojulari said.
“All we need to do is to walk through that reality.”
He stressed that competition management remains the responsibility of regulators.
“We will let the NMDPRA manage the issue of competitiveness,” he said.
“Competitiveness is not easy, and in these early stages, we are seeing a lot of tension with willing buyer, willing market.”
Ojulari also briefed the President on NNPCL’s production gains, revealing that oil output has increased from 1.5 million barrels per day in 2024 to over 1.7 million barrels per day in 2025.
“We aim to reach at least 1.8 million barrels per day in 2026,” he said, as part of efforts to hit President Tinubu’s target of 2 million barrels per day by 2027.
Gas production, he added, has risen from 6.5 billion to over 7 billion standard cubic feet daily.
Ojulari further disclosed that NNPCL has completed welding of the main line of the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano gas pipeline, including the long-delayed River Niger crossing.
“By completing this main line, we can begin to make all the connections to it early next year,” he said.
The 614-kilometre AKK pipeline is expected to supply gas to northern Nigeria for power generation, fertiliser production and industrial growth when commissioned in early 2026.
