Marketers also argued that making NNPCL the sole buyer of Dangote refinery’s petrol could create a new domestic monopoly
By Kehinde Okeowo
The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has made a case for its members to buy Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) otherwise called petrol directly from the Dangote refinery.
The position of the association was made public by its National Publicity Secretary, Chinedu Ukadike, while criticizing the firm grip of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) on the market.
According to him, the market should be open for all in line with the willing-buyer and willing-seller commitment earlier made by the corporation.
Although the NNPCL last Saturday said it was not the sole off-taker of products from the Dangote refinery, adding that the refinery was free to sell its petrol to any marketer.
A week later, the Federal Government announced that the company would be the sole buyer of petrol from the refinery.
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At a press briefing in Abuja on Friday, the Minister of Finance and the Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, noted that interested marketers would have to buy the product from the national oil firm through its trading company.
The minister, represented by the Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Dr Zacceus Adedeji, also announced that the Dangote refinery would commence the distribution of petrol to marketers on Sunday with an initial 25 million litres per day.
Edun said, “I am glad to announce that all agreements have been put in place, and the loading of the first batch of PMS, as already announced by NNPC, will commence on Sunday, September 15, 2024. And from October 1, NNPC will commence the supply of crude oil to the Dangote refinery to be paid in naira.
“In return, Dangote refinery will supply PMS and diesel of equivalent value to the domestic market to be paid in naira. But for now, PMS will only be sold to NNPC. NNPC will then sell to various marketers.”
Reacting to the development, IPMAN said the market should be liberalised, adding that IPMAN is already looking into building its own logistics.
“It should be open for all in line with the willing-buyer and willing-seller comments made by the NNPC. We are also looking at how to build our logistics and come up with our price.” Ukadike said.
Also delving into the matter, the National President of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Association of Nigeria, Billy Gillis-Harry, raised concerns over that making NNPCL the sole buyer of Dangote refinery’s petrol could create a new domestic monopoly in the oil and gas sector.
Gillis-Harry said, “Right now, even on Saturday, that business (petrol) is going to start rolling out tomorrow (Sunday), we don’t know what the price might be. Nobody has informed us about anything; we are not aware of what the government is doing.
“We don’t know any of the pricing templates yet or the matrix that will bring about the pricing template. We have been asking Dangote or anybody that is in charge of this transaction to be transparent, but somehow, we have not got any of that information.
“We are about to leave NNPC monopoly from importation and now we are also going to have that in a domestic environment, that portends danger for the industry.”
