DANGOTE Petroleum Industries has reduced the price of premium motor spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, six times in 2025. Several Nigerians have commended him for the price reduction, but Economy Post‘s findings have shown that the commendation is rather misplaced as PMS is cheaper in other oil-producing African nations.

In Nigeria, petrol sells for N875-N900 per litre at various stations, which is equivalent to $0.55, using N1600/$ as the exchange rate. Nigeria is Africa’s biggest oil producer and churned out 1.486 million barrels per day in April 2025, according to the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) data.

In other oil-producing nations in Africa, PMS is cheaper. Algeria is one of the continent’s producers of petrol. The price of the product stood at $0.35 per litre as of May 19, 2025, according to the GlobalPetrolPrices.com. If this were to be converted to naira, it would be N560 per litre. The nation produces 911,000 barrels per day and exports 500 000 barrels per day for oil and more than 100 billion cubic metres of gas.

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Similarly, the price of petrol in Libya, another oil-producing nation in Africa, is $0.027, which is about N43.2 if converted to naira. As of January 2025, Libya produced 1.28 million barrels of PMS, according to the CIEC data. When condensate and gas are calculated, Libya’s total daily production stands at 1,522,333 barrels of oil equivalent.

“National Oil Corporation (NOC) Chairman Farhat Bengdara aims to increase oil production to two million barrels per day by 2025, emphasizing international collaboration and technological advancements. This increase is expected to enhance Libya’s economic position, attract foreign investment, and strengthen its influence in global energy markets,” a newspaper, Energy Circle, reported a few weeks ago.

Egypt is likewise one of the oil-producing nations in Africa. It sells a litre of petrol at $0.34, according to Trading Economics, which collates data on economies. Egypt’s oil output has been on a decline, falling by 7 percent year-on-year to a new 40-year low 518,000 barrels per day in the first quarter (Q1) of 2025.

“Egypt’s oil output has been in gradual decline since the end of 2015, and this trend has continued into 2025,” a platform named mees.com noted, saying that “Cairo scrambles to agree new financially incentivized contractual terms with producers in an effort to boost activity and with it output.”

Also, Angola is the continent’s second largest oil-producer. It sells petrol at $0.038, which means N60.8 per litre in naira terms. The State of African Energy 2025 Outlook produced by the African Energy Chamber (AEC) found that West Africa would lead the continent’s targeted oil production growth from about 6.5 million bpd currently to nearly 7 million bpd by the end 2025.

“West Africa continues to remain the major driver of oil supply, producing around 3.7 million bpd of oil currently. With sustained production from Angola and a recovery from Nigeria, the region could produce between 3.8 – 3.9 million bpd,” the report, released in January 2025, said.

Why petrol price is higher in Nigeria

Nigeria ditched its costly petrol subsidies in 2023, as President Bola Tinubu announced on his inauguration in May 2023 that “petrol subsidy is gone.” Months after the announcement, Dangote refinery came on board, serving the entire nation. However, facts have shown that Dangote’s petrol is more expensive than others in oil-producing nations in Africa.

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“The reason is the cost of production is slightly higher in Nigeria owing to the cost of power and logistics. The second reason is taxes and royalties. Some countries impose lower taxes than others, which is why you see differences in prices. Also, some nations still have petrol subsidies in various forms, which is also why you see differences in prices across oil-producing nations,” said an oil and gas expert, who wished to remain anonymous due to his interest.

Another expert, Mr Ugo Udemezue, agreed, noting that “the difference is just the cost of production.” However, an oil marketer, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “Dangote can sell even cheaper than others in Africa as his refinery enjoys economies of scale due to its size. He is now a monopoly as the NNPC and the government have failed to fix the four refineries despite spending nearly $3 billion. He is only reaping the benefits of monopoly.”