Marketers eye direct deal with Dangote as NNPC buys petrol at ₦766/Litre
Petroleum marketers are pushing for direct access to Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) from the Dangote Refinery, raising concerns about the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation’s (NNPCL) monopoly over the market. The National Publicity Secretary of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Chinedu Ukadike, urged for the market to be opened to all, in line with the previously stated “willing-buyer, willing-seller” commitment by NNPCL.
Last week, NNPCL stated that it was not the sole off-taker of products from the Dangote Refinery, though the Federal Government recently announced that the NNPC would be the exclusive buyer of petrol from the refinery. At a press briefing on Friday, Minister of Finance Wale Edun, represented by Federal Inland Revenue Service Chairman Dr. Zaccheus Adedeji, revealed that Dangote would begin petrol distribution to NNPCL on Sunday, with an initial 25 million litres per day.
In return for crude oil supplies in naira, Dangote will provide an equivalent value of PMS and diesel for the domestic market, also to be paid in naira. Independent marketers, however, will only be able to purchase the product from NNPC for the time being.
The National President of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), Billy Gillis-Harry, expressed concerns over the potential creation of a domestic monopoly, stating, “We are leaving NNPC’s monopoly on importation only to face it domestically.”
On Saturday, NNPC mobilised 300 trucks to transport fuel from Dangote’s $20 billion refinery in Lekki, Lagos. Although pricing details remain unclear, it is confirmed that Dangote will sell petrol at N766 per litre to NNPC.
Marketers noted that while the pricing from Dangote was cheaper than current rates, transportation costs, levies, and other factors could push the retail price up to N820 per litre in some regions.
For now, independent marketers are calling for transparency in the pricing and supply process as they wait for the opportunity to deal directly with Dangote.
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