Oil dealers in the downstream sector have revealed that over 4,900 owners of retail petrol outlets have closed their doors, and thousands of independent marketers are now reducing their operations.
They ascribed this to growing losses due to volatile and erratic prices for Premium Motor Spirit (petrol), which are sold by PMS importers and the Dangote Petroleum Refinery.
This occurs in the context of the refinery’s frequent adjustments to the price of PMS. This year, the $20 billion refinery has adjusted the price of petrol around six times. Initially priced at N950 per litre, it evaluated fuel prices six times between January and April 2025 before gradually lowering them to N835.
According to findings gathered, marketers are complaining about the development. With up to three or more marketers now pooling resources to finance a single truckload of fuel, the scenario has forced marketers to reduce the amount of petroleum goods they buy.
Following this, players who lacked the necessary cash reserves were compelled to shut down their operations.
The deregulation of the downstream sector following the fuel subsidy removal triggered a fierce battle for market share between the 650,000-barrel-per-day Lekki-based refinery and fuel-importing marketers, as both parties strive to prevent the emergence of a monopoly and assert dominance in the newly liberalised market.
However, industry participants claim that the lack of clear market signals from big refiners, unregulated pricing, and transportation bottlenecks are to blame for this current crisis, which is causing independent petroleum marketers and retailers to either close their doors or use cost-sharing survival tactics.
The Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria(PETROAN) confirmed the terrible scenario by stating that unsustainable operating conditions had forced over 70% of its 7,000 retail outlets to close. This suggests that 4,900 member-owned retail stations have been shut down.
Billy Gillis-Harry, the PETROAN president confirming the development stated to news correspondents that the problem had gotten worse because there were not enough commercial bank loans available.
The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) also attested to the fact that its members were suffering significant losses as a result of volatile prices and deteriorating logistics.
Chinedu Ukadike, the National Publicity Secretary for IPMAN, pointed out that the association’s members had consistently underperformed on important metrics.
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