Fuel in Senegal: prices and stations

Two fuels, two prices set nationwide

In Senegal, fuel prices are regulated: they do not vary from one station to another and are not open to bargaining. It is the Energy Sector Regulatory Commission, an independent administrative authority created by act no. 2021-32 of 9 July 2021, that sets the price structure. It publishes a new schedule every four weeks — but a new schedule does not mean a new price: most of the time it rolls the previous one forward.

The prices below have been in force since 12 September 2026. They were set on 15 August, and the September schedule carried them over unchanged. Over the past twelve months the pump price has moved only twice: a cut in December 2025, then the August rise.

The schedule does not cover only car fuels, and what it contains says something about the country. Pirogue petrol, at half the price of super, is the fuel of the outboard motors used in artisanal fishing: during the August 2026 rise, which lifted petrol and diesel, it was left untouched. A fuel schedule is not just an accounting grid.

A little over two hundred francs separates the two fuels, in diesel's favour. That does not mean a diesel vehicle always works out cheaper: it all depends on how much it drinks. But it is worth knowing when you compare the vehicle categories, because the fuel a vehicle uses is one of its listed characteristics.

The same price everywhere, and why

A litre costs the same in Dakar, in Saint-Louis, in Tambacounda and in Ziguinchor. That is no accident of the market, it is a mechanism written into the schedule: a transport equalisation of 20,000 FCFA per cubic metre is built into the distributor's margin, precisely to cancel out the cost of hauling fuel to the regions far from the depot.

For anyone renting a car, the consequence is concrete: a trip to Casamance or eastern Senegal costs no more per litre than a run across the capital. Only the distance counts.

What is inside a litre

The published structure breaks the price down to the franc, per cubic metre. For super petrol, the import price accounts for a little under half the total; the rest is split between the specific duty, by far the largest levy, VAT, import duties and the two margins.

In francs per cubic metre, schedule of 12 September 2026. The comparison between the two fuels is instructive: diesel starts from a lower import price, but above all it carries a specific duty half the size — that is what opens up the 235 FCFA gap at the pump. The margins, for their part, are identical.

These prices do not cover the real cost. At the last adjustment, the government put the cost price at 1,019 FCFA a litre for super petrol and 1,044 FCFA for diesel, and announced more than 245 billion francs of subsidies absorbed since the start of the year. As long as the displayed price stays below cost, the schedule can be revised without notice: a budget worked out over several months does well to allow a margin.

Know what the vehicle drinks before you leave

The first mistake, and the silliest, is to use the wrong pump. A petrol engine given diesel, or the reverse, means a guaranteed breakdown and a bill that has nothing to do with a tank of fuel. A vehicle's fuel is not a matter of taste: it is determined by the engine, and it appears in the dated listing the owner puts online.

Before setting off, then, note three figures: the vehicle's fuel, the approximate tank capacity, and the average consumption quoted per hundred kilometres. These three pieces of information are all you need for everything that follows — estimating your spend as well as working out how far you can go between two stations. The owner provides them; ask for them at your first exchange if they are not already on the listing.

Filling up in town, the quarter-tank rule

In the big cities and along the busiest routes, stations are plentiful and open late. The picture changes the moment you move away: towards the east of the country, in the Saloum delta, beyond Oussouye in Casamance or on the long inland road, refuelling points thin out, and we have no up-to-date map that lists them one by one.

From that uncertainty comes a single rule, simple and risk-free: fill up in every town you pass through, and never let the gauge drop below a quarter of a tank. This is the principle that keeps you safe, precisely because it does not require knowing where the next pump is. A half-full tank topped up in Kaolack, Tambacounda or Ziguinchor costs the same as an empty tank filled in a panic — but it never leaves you stranded in the wrong place.

Carry water too, especially on the inland routes where the heat is fierce and stops are rare. A vehicle short of fuel and a driver short of water are the same lack of foresight, made twice.

Estimating your spend without an invented total

We will not hand you a ready-made fuel budget, and for good reason: there is no single honest figure. What you spend depends on the vehicle, the distance and the way you drive — three variables no one can fix for you. What we give you are the exact prices and how to do the sum yourself.

The reasoning comes in three steps. First take your total mileage, there and back, without forgetting the local trips once you have arrived. Then apply the quoted consumption to that distance: a consumption expressed per hundred kilometres, multiplied by the number of hundred-kilometre stretches covered, gives the number of litres. Finally apply the price per litre for the vehicle's fuel, 990 FCFA for petrol or 755 FCFA for diesel. You get an estimate specific to your trip, which no rounded total will ever replace.

Keep a margin: real consumption often exceeds the theoretical figure, and it is better to allow a little extra than to run short over the final days. It is this calculation, set against all the costs of the stay, that our budget page picks up.

What pushes real consumption up

The quoted consumption is a laboratory average; the Senegalese road is nothing like a laboratory. Several factors pull your spend upwards, and knowing them avoids nasty surprises when you fill up again.

Air conditioning first, essential here, noticeably raises consumption on long hot stretches. Then the load: a full boot, passengers and luggage push the spend up, especially on a tall, heavy vehicle. Terrain and road surface count too — a track, ruts or a succession of speed bumps at village entrances burn more fuel than a ribbon of expressway. Driving style, finally: the repeated acceleration and braking of Dakar's dense traffic use more than a steady pace on a main route. Smooth driving is the only free lever you have.

Paying at the pump, in practice

Payment is most often in cash, and it is wise not to count on a bank card outside the big urban stations. So carry enough cash for your fill-ups, all the more so as cash machines become scarce the further you get from the cities.

Stations are generally served by an attendant: you state the fuel and the amount or ask for a "full tank", you check that the pump has been reset to zero before he starts, and you pay afterwards. It is a one-minute task, and the only useful habit is to watch the display start again from zero. A small tip is in no way compulsory but remains customary after a service rendered, such as a wipe of the windscreen.

Fuel by itinerary

The logic of filling up changes with the destination, and this is where fuel meets the choice of vehicle and the season. On the paved routes of the north and the coast, towards Saint-Louis or Saly, coverage is comfortable and filling up needs no thought. Towards the interior and the south-east, by contrast, each staging town becomes a refuelling appointment not to be missed: you fill up in Kaolack, then in Tambacounda before the long eastern road, and you always leave with a full tank.

Once your figures are gathered and your route set, run a search by destination and return to the main page for the rest of your preparation.

Frequently asked questions