MRS hikes petrol price to N925 in Lagos, N955 in Southeast amid global oil price increase

MRS Oil Nigeria Plc, a major distributor of petroleum products from the Dangote Refinery, has announced a nationwide increase in the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, with prices now reaching up to N955 per litre in some regions.

The company disclosed the revised pricing via its official X (formerly Twitter) handle over the weekend, advising customers to refer to updated pump rates at MRS stations across the country. The new pricing structure sees an increase from N885 to N925 per litre in Lagos.

According to the breakdown, PMS will now sell for:

N935 per litre in Ogun, Oyo, Ondo, Osun, and Ekiti States

N945 per litre across the North Central and North West

N955 per litre in the North East and South East

This development comes in the wake of Dangote Petroleum Refinery’s decision on Friday to raise its ex-depot price from N825 to N880 per litre. The ex-depot price is the rate at which petroleum marketers purchase products from the refinery.

Industry experts link the surge in domestic pump prices to ongoing geopolitical unrest in the Middle East. Since mid-June, escalating hostilities between Israel and Iran have sparked fears of widespread disruption to global oil supply chains.

Crude oil prices have risen by nearly 3 per cent in the past week, with West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and Brent crude reaching their highest levels since January. The price spike follows a wave of retaliatory attacks, with Israeli airstrikes targeting Iranian military and nuclear sites, and Iran launching drone and missile responses against Israeli infrastructure.

Tensions reached a new peak in the early hours of Sunday, 22 June, when U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed that American forces had carried out targeted strikes on three major Iranian nuclear facilities, Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan.

Calling the operation a "spectacular military success," President Trump said the action was taken after diplomatic negotiations with Tehran broke down.

With the conflict showing no signs of easing, market analysts have warned that continued instability could lead to further spikes in global fuel prices, with downstream effects in Nigeria and other oil-importing countries.

The current increase marks a reversal of price cuts made by the Dangote Refinery just one month ago. At that time, petrol prices were slashed to N875 per litre in Lagos and N905 in other parts of the country. Before that, prices had climbed to N890 per litre in Lagos and up to N920 in the North East and South South regions.

The Dangote Refinery, with a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, is Africa’s largest and most ambitious oil refining project. By producing refined products locally, it aims to reduce Nigeria’s reliance on fuel imports, ease pressure on foreign exchange reserves, and stabilise pump prices in the long term.