It has been discovered that the price of Engine oil also known as lubricant has skyrocketed by over 70% between January and September 2021 after research had been carried out.
Specifically, the price of a 4-litre gallon of Mobil 5W30 (semi-synthetic) formally sold for N9,000 at the beginning of the year, now sells within the range of N15,000 and N16,000 while the full synthetic increased to an average of N32,000 from N20,000.
The rise in the cost of lubricants across the country has been attributed to the scarcity of base oil in the global market, which is a major raw material in the production of lubricants. This, in turn, has caused a significant increase in the cost of maintaining and servicing engines in the country.
It is worth noting that the hike is not exclusive to Nigeria, as it is a global issue. It is quite unfortunate, however, that Nigeria suffers from the global scarcity despite being a major producer of crude oil. However, with its inability to refine crude petroleum products in the country, we continue to rely on the importation of base oil, PMS amongst others, which are by-products of crude oil.
Data from the National Bureau of Statistics, reveals that Nigeria imported lubricants worth N9.03 billion in the first half of the year, representing a 640% increase compared to N1.22 billion recorded in the comparable period of 2020.
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