Dangote cuts jet fuel price to ₦1,650, offers airlines 30-day interest-free credit

• Dangote Refinery has reduced aviation fuel prices from ₦1,750 to ₦1,650 per litre amid mounting pressure from Nigerian airlines.

• The refinery also introduced interest-free credit support and switched aviation fuel sales from dollars to naira.

• The move follows threats by domestic airlines to suspend operations over soaring Jet A1 costs.

The price reduction, announced by the refinery in an official statement, comes alongside two additional relief measures: a 30-day interest-free credit facility backed by bank guarantees for marketers and airline operators, and a shift from dollar-denominated pricing to a naira-based model. 

Together, the interventions represent the refinery's most significant response yet to a crisis that has been building for months.

The crisis has its roots in the ripple effects of the US-Iran conflict, which triggered a spike in global energy prices. In Nigeria, the impact on aviation fuel has been severe and, according to the Airline Operators of Nigeria, disproportionate to what was being experienced internationally. 

Jet A1 prices climbed from around ₦900 per litre before the crisis to between ₦2,700 and ₦2,900 at many outlets, with some marketers pushing as high as ₦3,300 per litre, an increase that made aviation fuel the single largest and most unpredictable cost facing domestic carriers.

By late April, the airlines had run out of patience. The Airline Operators of Nigeria issued the government a 48-hour ultimatum, warning that all domestic flights would be grounded from April 30 if no action was taken. The threat was credible because aviation fuel typically accounts for the largest share of airline operating costs, and margins in Nigeria's domestic aviation market were already thin before the crisis began.

Dangote's latest reduction is not the first intervention. At the end of April, the refinery announced a gantry price of ₦1,820 per litre, a move seen at the time as an attempt to bring transparency to the market. The new ₦1,650 price represents a further step down, though it remains significantly higher than pre-crisis levels.

The refinery said the interventions are expected to lower fuel procurement costs, improve operational stability for carriers, and support efforts to moderate airfares for passengers, a downstream consequence of the fuel crisis that has quietly been adding pressure to ticket prices across the country.

Whether the reduction is sufficient to fully resolve the standoff between airlines and fuel suppliers remains to be seen. However, it is a meaningful development.

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