TheCable

The ex-depot price of diesel has crossed the N500 a litre mark, causing more discomfort for businesses who need diesel to power work activities and households, TheCable understands.

Checks by TheCable show that fuel stations are now selling as high as N540 and N560 while others shut down diesel services since it is a deregulated market, unlike petrol that is regulated and price fixed by the government.

Mobil filling station, Ozumba Mbadiwe road, is now selling at N540 a litre while MRS along Alakija sells for N520.

Branches of Total Nigeria Plc, Ardova Plc along Lekki, Ikorodu, are not selling diesel as at Friday morning.

“It has happened, diesel has crossed N500 ex-depot,” a source said, raising an alarm.

For about a month, the scarcity of PMS caused by the importation of off-spec petrol has grounded activities, causing traffic gridlock as a result of long queues in Lagos, Abuja and other cities.

The price increase in diesel means that Nigerians will pay more for the commodity as they queue up at filling stations for fuel.

“Few days ago, diesel was sold for N430 a litre,” a petrol attendant told TheCable.

Luke Ofojebe, head of research, Vetiva Capital, linked the rise in commodity prices to Nigeria’s low oil output, which is still below OPEC’s quota hovering below 2million barrels per day, and the surging oil prices.

Ofojebe said the reason is that Nigeria still depends on imported petroleum products from other advanced countries.

“The current oil prices will translate to high landing costs for the products,” he said.

He noted that the pricing of regulated oil products like PMS will remain relatively stable but will lead to high subsidy expenses because landing costs will increase significantly.

“But deregulated products like diesel, jet fuel, and even lubricants will see higher prices,” he added.