Amid complaints of unaffordable petrol pricing among Nigerians, a report has shown that Nigeria has the cheapest petrol price in West Africa and the 13th in the world.
According to globalpetrolprices.com, the price of a litre of petrol in Nigeria is far below $1, even if sold at N1,000.
For comparison, the global average price of gasoline at the moment is N1,922, about 100 per cent higher than the cost in Nigeria.
The report puts Nigeria’s average petrol price at $0.6 per litre at the moment. The product rose to an average of ₦940 recently after the Dangote refinery stopped the sale of petroleum products in naira.
In Liberia, the price of petrol is $0.87, which is equivalent to N1,365. In Ghana, a litre sells for N1611.
The people of the Benin Republic buy petrol at about N1,817 per litre, while those in Togo pay N1,778.
Premium Motor Spirit is sold for around N2,089 per litre in Cape Verde and N2,170 in Guinea.
In Burkina Faso, petrol sells for N2,223; N2,172 in Sierra Leone, N2,172 in Ivory Coast, N2,589 in Senegal, and N2,235 in Mali.
Globalpetrolprices.com disclosed that Libya has the cheapest petrol price globally at N42 per litre, followed by Iran at N45 and Venezuela at N54.
In Angola, Egypt, and Kuwait, the fuel is sold at N512, N518, and N533, respectively.
On the contrary, Hong Kong has the highest petrol price at N5,410 per litre. It was followed by Iceland at N3,655, Denmark at N3,375, the Netherlands at N3,268, and Israel at N3,128.
“The average price of gasoline around the world is 1922.72 Nigerian naira per litre. However, there is a substantial difference in these prices among countries,” the report partly read.
It was stated that as a general rule, richer countries have higher petrol prices, while poorer countries and the countries that produce and export oil have significantly lower prices.
However, one notable exception is the United States, which is an economically advanced country but has low gas prices of about N1,413 per litre.
Globalpetrolprices.com stated that the differences in prices across countries are due to the various taxes and subsidies for petrol.
It explained, “All countries have access to the same petroleum prices as international markets but then decide to impose different taxes. As a result, the retail price of gasoline is different.”
Until May 29, 2023, Nigerians enjoyed subsidised PMS selling below N200 per litre. But President Bola Tinubu declared after his inauguration that “the fuel subsidy is gone.”
With the removal of fuel subsidies, the price of petrol jumped and became unaffordable for many who have benefitted from subsidies in the past.
Today, the product sells for prices between N920 and N970, depending on the location