11 plc, Total Energies, AA Rano, others pay ₦766 per litre to lift Dangote petrol
Leading petroleum marketers, including 11 plc, Total Energies, AA Rano, and others, have commenced the lifting of petrol from the Dangote Refinery, facilitated by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Trading Limited.
These marketers are now paying ₦765.99 per litre as part of the latest pricing arrangement to distribute the refinery’s petrol across the country.
Tunji Oyebanji, the managing director of 11 plc, confirmed that his company was one of the first to complete the payment process via the NNPC trading portal.
He explained that the lifting of the product began earlier in the week under an existing agreement between the marketers and NNPC.
“We were among the first marketers to complete the payment on the NNPC portal. We have no direct arrangement with the refinery,” Oyebanji said.
He noted that marketers such as NNPC Retail, 11 plc, Total Energies, and AA Rano were among those able to secure the product from the Dangote Refinery.
While Oyebanji did not elaborate on the financial specifics between NNPC and the refinery, he confirmed that 11 plc was purchasing at ₦765.99 from NNPC to lift the Dangote-produced petrol.
READ ALSO: Dangote refutes ₦898 per litre petrol pricing, says sales with NNPCL were in dollars
Despite these developments, efforts to obtain confirmation from the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) on whether their members had also started lifting products from the refinery proved unsuccessful at the time of this report.
Adedapo Segun, the executive vice president of downstream operations at NNPC, explained that marketers can not buy directly from the Dangote Refinery as the petrol is still being sold at a subsidised rate.
“That is the same thing happening with Dangote. I said earlier that Dangote is a company and it is going to sell at market price,” Segun clarified. He added that NNPC is acting as the sole off-taker of the product because it plays a legal role as Nigeria’s energy provider.
Segun elaborated further, “The market value of PMS (Premium Motor Spirit) is still higher than what N766, N765, or N799 that NNPC is selling. The situation has not changed. So, NNPC’s off-taking is only because the others would not buy at the price Dangote will be willing to sell, which is reasonable.”
He noted that once market conditions allow, marketers will buy directly from the refinery. “Instead of saying NNPC is the only off-taker, let’s put it this way: NNPC is the only entity that is willing to off-take because NNPC has a role under law to be the energy provider of the last resort,” Segun said.
Price Discrepancy and Clarification
Earlier in the week, Femi Soneye, spokesperson for NNPC, announced that the refinery had sold petrol to NNPC at N898 per litre, stating that domestic pump prices would be determined by market forces. “For instance, now Brent is $70. Let’s say tomorrow, Brent goes to $80. You should note that the price will also rise because those are the market forces. But today, for this initial 16.8 million litres that were given to us, it was at the rate of N898,” Soneye explained.
In response, Anthony Chiejina, spokesperson for Dangote Refinery, countered the claim, describing it as “misleading and mischievous,” aimed at undermining the refinery’s achievements in addressing Nigeria’s energy needs. However, the refinery did not disclose the exact price it sold the petrol to NNPC.
NNPC stood firm, reiterating that it purchased the product at N898 per litre and welcomed any discount from Dangote that could benefit the general public. The company also explained that apart from the landing costs from refineries, suppliers must pay various statutory and regulatory charges, such as the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority fee (N8.99), inspection fee (N0.97), distribution cost (N15.00 in Lagos), and a profit margin of N26.48.
As a result, after adding freight and other charges, the pump price of petrol in Lagos would be N950.22 per litre, N980.22 in Rivers, and N992.22 in Abuja. In Maiduguri, the price was expected to hit N1,019 per litre.
Despite the initial confusion, NNPC and the Dangote Refinery continue their collaboration, with the refinery playing a pivotal role in addressing Nigeria’s energy supply challenges.
