The Chief Executive Officer of Pinnacle Oil & Gas Limited, Robert Dickerman, has urged the federal government to focus on working on economic distortions and lifting international investors' confidence to reduce the country's pump price of fuel, as the price of Premium Motor Spirit is still high despite supplies from Dangote Refinery.

He also advised Nigerians to reduce their expectations that the 650,000 barrels per day Dangote Refinery will bring reductions in petrol prices in the country.

Dickerman made the statement at the Nigerian Association of Energy Correspondents' (NAEC) 2024 annual conference with the theme "Gas As Energy Transition Fuel: Navigating Nigeria's Trilemma of Finance, Energy Security, and International Politics" in Lagos.

He stated, “Finally, now that we all know the global market price for any oil commodity is dollar-based, and must be converted to Naira at the Naira/USD exchange rate, we also know that the large majority of price increases we have seen in the past year are not because of government policy, price gouging or product hoarding, nor are they due to an increase in the price of crude oil.

"They are due to the fall in value of the Naira. Every drop in the Naira raises the cost of anything imported or market priced, whether it is gasoline or manufactured goods or food.

“We must address the root problem, which is how to restore global confidence in Nigeria’s economy and currency, create foreign investment in jobs and local production, increase tax revenue and achieve fiscal prudence. That is the only way to lower petroleum products prices in Naira.

“Bear in mind that the refinery can also export to vessels at market price in USD ex-refinery or even deliver to other countries directly. So if you own a business that can sell a product at x all day to one customer, why would you sell it at a lower price to another customer? The only sensible strategy for Dangote is optimisation, as it would be for any investor and operator.”