- Lagos – N950.22
- Oyo – N960.22
- Sokoto/Kaduna/Kano – N999.22
- Imo/Rivers – N980.22
- FCT – N992.22
- Borno – N1, 019.22
September 16, (THEWILL) – The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, and Dangote Refinery on Sunday continued their brickbat, this time over the price per litre at which the world’s largest single train refinery sold Premium Motor Spirit, otherwise known as petrol, to it on Sunday.
This is as the state-owned NNPCL early on Monday morning announced the retail price of petrol nationwide as follows: Lagos – N950.22 Per Litre, Oyo – N960.22, Sokoto/Kaduna/Kano – N999.22, Imo/Rivers – N980.22, FCT – N992.22 and Borno – 1, 019.22.
The NNPCL, the Federal Government appointed sole purchaser of petrol from the refinery owned by Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, formally started receiving fuel from the refinery on Sunday, following a brokered deal between the refinery and government.
However, a few hours after dozens of NNPCL trucks started loading petrol at the facility for distribution to petrol stations across the country, the company’s spokesman, Olufemi Soneye, said the refinery sold to it at N898 per litre in its reaction to news reports claiming it bought fuel at N760 per litre.
In its swift reaction to the NNPCL, the refinery described the statement as “mischievous and misleading.”
“We successfully loaded PMS at the Dangote Refinery today, (Sunday). The claim that we purchased it at N760 per litre is incorrect. For this initial loading, the price from the refinery was N898 per litre,” Soneye said. The Group Chief Branding and Communications Officer of Dangote Group, Anthony Chiejina, said the NNPCL claim is “Deliberately aimed at undermining the milestone achievement recorded today, September 15, 2024, towards addressing energy insufficiency and insecurity, which has bedevilled the economy in the past 50 years.
“We urge Nigerians to disregard this malicious statement and await a formal announcement on the pricing, by the Technical sub-committee on the Naira-based crude sales to local refineries, appointed by President Bola Tinubu, which will commence on October 1, 2024, bearing in mind that our current stock of crude was purchased in dollars.”
The refinery was non-specific on how much it sold its petrol per litre to the NNPCL on Sunday. Chiejina however disclosed that petrol was sold to the NNPCL in US dollars “With a lot of savings against what they are currently importing.”
Contacted by THEWILL to react to Dangote’s statement, Soneye doubled down on his previous claim. “I stand by my earlier comment. If it is not N898, then what is the price? Let them inform Nigerians of the actual cost. We have issued a Letter of Credit for the product and there is an invoice. Let them disclose the price,” he said.
Considering the NNPCL’s volte-face on its initial position that willing dealers could strike a direct deal with the Dangote refinery for petrol, Sunday’s verbal exchange between the two companies has further deepened the feud between them over control of the supply and distribution of petrol from the refinery.
The NNPCL had accused Dangote of exhibiting monopolistic tendencies which were contrary to the dictates of the Petroleum Industry Act, particularly section 5 of the Act, which vests the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources with the primary responsibility for policy and exercise of supervisory oversight over the industry.
The Chairman and CEO of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote shot back at the company’s management, denied the monopoly charge and accused the NNPCL of arm-twisting tactics aimed at undermining the smooth take-off of his refinery.
However, the NNPCL confirmed the THEWILL’s findings that it is aiming for an increase in the pump price of petrol after it recently claimed that foreign exchange rates and market forces would influence the cost of petrol as the market had been deregulated.
Its Monday statement titled, “NNPC Ltd Releases Estimated Pump Prices of PMS from Dangote Refinery, Based on September 2024 Pricing” signed by its spokesman, Soneye said: “The NNPC Ltd has released estimated prices of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol (obtained from the Dangote Refinery) in its retail stations across the country.
“The NNPC Ltd also wishes to state that, in line with the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), PMS prices are not set by government, but negotiated directly between parties on an arm’s length. The NNPC Ltd can confirm that it is paying Dangote Refinery in USD for September 2024 PMS offtake, as Naira transactions will only commence on October 1, 2024.
“The NNPC Ltd assures that if the quoted pricing is disputed, it will be grateful for any discount from the Dangote Refinery, which will be passed on 100 per cent to the general public. Attached to this statement are the estimated pump prices of PMS (obtained from the Dangote Refinery) across NNPC Retail Stations in the country, based on September 2024 pricing.”
Meanwhile, the NNPCL kept its word on Sunday as the first set of trucks from the company successfully lifted petrol from the 650,000 barrels per day Dangote Refinery. The Vice President, Oil and Gas, at Dangote Industries Limited (DIL), Devakumar Edwin, described the commencement of the petrol lifting as a moment of pride for every Nigerian.
Speaking to journalists at the refinery on Sunday, Edwin said 44 per cent of the PMS production from the Dangote Refinery can meet the requirements of the entire country.
He said, “44 per cent of the production can meet the entire requirement of the country, 56 per cent of the production has to be exported. So, it is a huge refinery. So, it is not only going to be doing import substitution but also going to make Forex generation through export revenue. The gantries are 86 and it can load 86 trucks at a go.”
This development is coming on the heels of the agreement between Dangote Group and the Federal Government, which was announced over the weekend by the Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Zacch Adelabu Adedeji on the commercial terms for the supply of crude oil to the refinery and the off-taking and distribution of petrol and diesel from the facility, starting Sunday. The terms of the agreement would ensure that the distribution of petrol from the 650,000 barrels per day Lagos-Lekki Free Zone-based facility will start with an initial 25 million litres per day.
Unveiling the agreement in Abuja on Friday, Adedeji, who represented the Minister of Finance and Chairman of the Presidential Committee on the Sale of Crude Oil and Refined Products for Domestic Consumption in Naira, Wale Edun, said that as part of the resolution, the NNPCL would be the sole off-taker of petrol from Dangote Refinery while diesel from the facility would be sold directly to any interested marketer.
