By Lanre Shodimu
The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has denied receiving authorization from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) to supply Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly known as petrol, to members of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN).
In a statement released on Thursday, the refinery responded to claims by IPMAN’s National President, Abubakar Maigandi, that its members had been unable to lift petrol from the refinery despite having made payments. The refinery clarified that it had not received any payments from IPMAN and that discussions were ongoing regarding direct dealings.
The statement read, “The Dangote Petroleum Refinery wishes to clarify that it has not received any payments from the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria to purchase refined petroleum products. Although discussions are ongoing with IPMAN, it is misleading to suggest that they are experiencing difficulties loading refined products from our petroleum refinery, as we currently have no direct business dealings with them.”
The refinery emphasized that payments made by IPMAN members were made through NNPC, which had not authorized Dangote to sell to the independent marketers. The company advised IPMAN to register with them and make direct payments, stressing its capacity to meet the nation’s fuel demand.
“We would like to emphasize that we can meet the nation’s demand for all petroleum products, including petrol, diesel, and aviation fuel. At present, we can load 2,900 trucks per day and we have also been evacuating petroleum products by sea,” the statement added.
Meanwhile, the Petroleum Retail Outlet Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN) has demanded that Dangote announce the price of its PMS. PETROAN’s National Publicity Secretary, Dr. Joseph Obele, stated that Dangote’s claim of having 500 million liters of petrol was insufficient to trigger a purchase decision without disclosing the price.
In related news, the Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria (MEMAN) assured the public of sufficient petrol stocks, warning against panic buying. MEMAN’s Chief Executive Officer, Clement Isong, stated that the deregulation of the downstream oil sector allows marketers to plan and book supplies in advance. Additionally, MEMAN released data showing the landing cost of petrol as N978.01/litre, diesel as N1,069.97/litre, and aviation fuel as N1,119.67/litre as of October 31, 2024. The landing cost represents the unit price of imported commodities upon arrival in Nigeria.
