The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has commenced direct supply of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, to some oil marketers without involving the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC).
It was gathered that while more
oil marketers are making efforts to purchase the product directly from the
refinery, others continue to import PMS, with hundreds of millions of liters
expected to arrive in Nigeria within two weeks. Recently, no fewer than four
vessels carrying imported PMS docked at seaports along the nation's borders
between October 18 and October 20, with about 123.4 million liters of PMS
berthed at two seaports to bolster fuel supply.
The development aligns with
reports that oil dealers are importing PMS to supplement supplies from the $20
billion Dangote refinery. Meanwhile, as major oil marketers import the product,
some have started lifting PMS directly from the refinery's facility in Lekki. A
senior refinery official confirmed that marketers are now approaching the company
for business transactions on a willing-buyer, willing-seller basis.
"Marketers are lifting directly from the refinery, not through a third party,"
the official disclosed.
The source could not specify
the price at which marketers were purchasing PMS but mentioned that if the
price wasn't favorable, the marketers wouldn’t be coming. The official noted
improvements as the Federal Government began supplying crude oil to the
refinery. Another source confirmed that some marketers’ trucks were loading the
product directly from the plant.
Given the high demand for
petrol, the refinery is focused on producing 53% of PMS from its crude oil
supplies, although this may change depending on future demand for other
products. A major oil marketer also confirmed the direct purchase of PMS from
Dangote, describing it as a routine business transaction.
Contrary to earlier claims that
the refinery would only sell to marketers if its deal with NNPC was terminated,
recent developments suggest otherwise. Initially, the NNPC was expected to be
the sole off-taker of PMS from the refinery starting September 15.
However, a shift occurred when
the Technical Subcommittee on Domestic Sale of Crude Oil in Local Currency
announced on October 11 that marketers could now lift PMS directly from the
refinery.
Finance Minister Wale Edun, who
chairs the subcommittee, stated that petroleum product marketers can now
purchase PMS directly from local refineries, promoting competition and
improving market efficiency. As this was announced, operators acknowledged that
the market had been fully deregulated.
The Vice President of the
Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Hammed Fashola,
recently met with the Vice President of Dangote Industries, Devakumar Edwin, to
discuss business collaborations. Fashola mentioned that IPMAN had begun
discussing logistics and modalities, and anticipated lifting products from the
facility soon. However, IPMAN emphasized that the refinery must end its
contract with NNPC before they can commence off-taking PMS.
Refinery officials have since
clarified that the refinery is already selling PMS to some marketers.
When the refinery began selling
PMS on September 15, NNPC claimed it purchased the product at N898 per liter,
which the refinery dismissed as misleading. The refinery stated that the
naira-for-crude committee would set the PMS price, but as of October 22, no
official price had been announced.
Post a Comment