A fresh crisis is brewing in Nigeria’s Petroleum Industry over the new price list for Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), known as petrol.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company had announced price adjustments for its retail outlets nationwide upon lifting Dangote Petrol, saying petrol will sell between N950 to N1,019.22 per liter depending on the location.
The development had created a price controversy between Dangote Refinery and NNPC. NNPC had insisted that it bought Dangote Petrol at a per liter pump price of N898, but the 650,000 barrels per day Lagos-based refinery had disagreed with the state-owned firm.
Displeased by the price regime of Dangote Refinery and in extension, NNPC, petrol marketers considered the importation of petrol.
Investors King gathered that about 141 million liters of PMS are being conveyed to Nigeria by oil vessels by oil marketers despite the availability of Dangote Refinery petrol.
Checks revealed that the oil marketers’ move followed the full deregulation of the downstream oil sector by the Federal Government.
However, the development has angered the Crude Oil Refiners Association of Nigeria which kicked against the abandonment of local petrol for foreign products.
The Publicity Secretary of CORAN, Eche Idoko, who condemned the shipment of foreign petrol in a statement raised the alarm that some imported petrol was substandard and was blended in Malta or Togo.
He said aside from the fact that the substandard products imported to the country would cause damage, Idoko assured Nigerians that the Dangote Refinery petrol will pay them way better than the regime of importing petroleum products.
Idoko called for backward integration, saying some were afraid that Dangote would become a monopoly.
According to him, oil marketers are nursing the fear that Dangote will become a monopoly, but he noted that the mere fact Dangote subscribed to CORAN, there would never be monopoly.
He added that with the Petroleum Industry Act in place and all the agencies in play, there is no way that Dangote can become a monopoly.
Earlier, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority had declared that imported petrol would be subjected to three tests before being allowed to be sold across the country.
NMDPRA spokesperson, George Ene-Ita, disclosed this amid petrol import concerns.
He stressed that marketers with import licenses were free to import PMS but noted that the products must be subjected to three major tests by the agency.
The President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote had earlier in May 2024 stated that the commencement of his refinery will end fuel importation in Nigeria.
