Hopes for cheaper Premium Motor Spirit (PM), otherwise known as petrol, rose, last night, as indications emerged that the product may sell for between N857 and N865 per litre after the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) starts lifting the product from Dangote Refinery today.
It was learnt that the NNPCL, as the sole off-taker of petrol from the refinery, is projected to lift the product at N960/N980 per litre and sell to marketers at N840/N850 to enable Nigerians to get it at between N857 and N865 at the pump at filling stations.
However, whether uniform product prices would apply at filling stations nationwide was unclear.
As of yesterday, petrol sold at N855 per litre at NNPCL retail stations in Lagos and it was the cheapest anyone could buy the product while major marketers sold around N920.
At independent marketers’ outlets, the price was over N1,000. Elsewhere across the country, PMS sold for more than N1,200 per litre.
Sources said the new arrangement from the NNPCL and Dangote Refinery negotiations, spanning more than one week, would allow Nigerians to get petrol at between N857 and N865 per litre and represents an average under-recovery of about N130 to NNPCL.
President Bola Tinubu, Sunday Vanguard was made to understand by a Presidency source, made it clear to the negotiating parties that “the price at which petrol would be sold to Nigerians should not be such that would place heavy financial burden on them while dealing with the new reality of the prevailing price”.
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun, has, meanwhile, expressed optimism that the deal would reduce the pressure on foreign exchange (FX) demands and shore up the value of the Naira – presently, between 30% and 40% of FX demands go into the importation of PMS.
Chief Corporate Communications Officer, NNPC Ltd., Olufemi Soneye, who confirmed the readiness of the company to start lifting petrol today, told Sunday Vanguard, yesterday: “NNPC Ltd has started deploying our trucks and vessels to the Dangote Refinery to lift PMS in preparation for the scheduled lifting date of September 15th, as set by the refinery.
“Our trucks and personnel are already on-site, ready to begin lifting. We expect more trucks, and the deployment will continue throughout the weekend so we can start loading as soon as the refinery begins operations on September 15, 2024.”
Soneye hinted that at least 100 trucks had already arrived at the refinery for the petrol lifting, adding that the number of trucks could increase to 300 by Saturday evening.
On his part, Executive Secretary, of Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN), Olufemi Adewole, said: “We have been lifting diesel (AGO) and aviation fuel (jet fuel) and we look forward to lifting petrol (PMS).”
On pricing, he said: “We await clarity in respect of the pricing mode, and once that is clarified, we’ll do the needful towards meeting the energy needs of Nigerians.”
Yesterday, Edun, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy said the structuring of the NNPCL, Dangote Refinery deal in Naira would assist in reducing pressure on the local currency.
