Nigeria’s Dangote Refinery Under Fire Over Petrol Pricing
The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has raised concerns over the pricing of petrol from the Dangote Refinery, urging the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to ensure it is not sold at a higher price than imported fuel. IPMAN argues that such a disparity would be counterproductive to the nation’s drive for energy self-sufficiency and could negatively impact consumers and marketers alike.
According to IPMAN, the pricing strategy for locally refined petrol should reflect the advantages of domestic production, offering Nigerians a more affordable option. IPMAN National Welfare Officer, John Kekeocha, stated this on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief breakfast programme on Monday, saying, “If NNPC can sell Dangote products higher than the imported products then it doesn’t make sense. What is the celebration we are having all these while then?”
The NNPCL began loading the first batch of petrol from the Dangote Refinery on Sunday, saying it got petrol at N898 per litre from the private refinery. However, Dangote Refinery denied selling petrol to the NNPCL at N898, describing the claim as “misleading and mischievous.” The refinery’s spokesman, Anthony Chiejina, said, “We sold the products to NNPCL in dollars with a lot of savings against what they are currently importing. With this action, there will be petrol in every local government area of the country regardless of their remote nature.”
The NNPCL insisted that it got petrol from Dangote Refinery at N898 per litre and challenged the latter to release the price it sold petrol. The NNPCL further released a breakdown of pricing it sells Dangote petrol at its filling stations across the country.
The Dangote Refinery, which commenced operations in December 2022, has a capacity of 350,000 barrels per day and aims to achieve its full capacity of 650,000 barrels per day by the end of the year. The refinery has begun supplying diesel and aviation fuel to marketers in the country and now petrol.
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, faces energy challenges, with all its state-owned refineries non-operational. The country is heavily reliant on imported refined petroleum products, with the state-run NNPC being the major importer of the essential commodities. Fuel queues are commonplace in the country, and prices of petrol have tripled since the removal of subsidy in May 2023, from around N200/litre to over N1000/litre, compounding the woes of citizens who power their vehicles and generating sets with petrol, no thanks to decades-long epileptic electricity supply.
