TheCable

The price of petrol at N165.89 per litre in Nigeria is the third cheapest in Africa and the lowest in West Africa.

Using the FX rate of N411.64 per dollar (I&E), findings by TheCable Index showed that the price also places Nigeria as the seventh cheapest nation in terms of fuel pump price in the world.

The findings, using the latest statistical data from Globalpetrolprices.com, a platform that tracks retail fuel prices in over 150 countries, showed that Angola topped the list of cheapest petrol prices on the continent — at N112.78 per litre.

Nigeria and Angola have been the biggest oil producer in Africa, but subsidy policies in the two countries eroded gains.

A 2020 report put subsidy spending at about $3.5 billion in Angola while Nigeria spent $7 billion between 2019 and 2020.

The federal government has said it will end the fuel subsidy regime in 2022, replacing it with N5,000 monthly transportation grants to the poorest Nigerians, the labour union kicked against it.

In Algeria, the pump price was recorded as the second lowest at N136.25 for a litre while Ethiopia and Egypt sell at N225.16 and N242.04 per litre, earning the fourth and fifth positions, respectively. 

Across Africa, Morocco has the highest rate of petrol pump price at N534.72 per litre. 

Uganda’s price stands at N529.36 per litre, and South Africa sells petrol for N498.08 per litre. 

NIGERIA HAS THE LOWEST PETROL PUMP PRICE IN WEST AFRICA

Kenya and Ghana have similar pump prices, culminating in N482.03 per litre. It is currently atN368, N357.30, and N444.98, respectively.

Among the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) member countries, Venezuela sells the cheapest petrol at zero naira per litre, doubling as the world’s cheapest petrol. Iran follows with N24.69 per litre. 

Kuwait has a petrol pump price of N142.83 per litre, the fourth cheapest among OPEC countries, while Iraq’s petrol price is N211.58 per litre, the sixth cheapest price among member countries. 

Petrol is said to be priced in Saudi Arabia at N255.62 and in UAE at N301.32, ranking seventh and eighth among OPEC member countries.

Other petrol prices include Congo and Gabon at N409.17 and N428.10, respectively. 

According to the data, Hong Kong’s petrol sells for N1,077.67 per litre, placing it as the world’s most expensive fuel.

WHY VARIATION IN PETROL PRICES

According to Globalpetrolprices, the differences in prices across countries are due to the various taxes and subsidies for gasoline.

All countries have access to the same petroleum prices at the international markets but impose different taxes or bear cost through subsidy payments.