- Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) received its first petrol supply from Dangote Refinery at N898 per litre
- Dangote Refinery disputed the pricing reported by NNPCL, said it was procured in dollars, affecting the price
- Dangote urged Nigerians to await a formal pricing announcement by the Technical Sub-Committee on Naira-based crude sales
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and Dangote Refinery clashed over the price of petrol to be provided by the refinery.
The disagreement, which occurred came as NNPCL made its first lift of the product from the refinery on Sunday, September 15. Despite receiving the initial supply at N898 per litre, NNPCL and Dangote were at odds over the price, with Dangote contending it did not align with any agreed pricing.
N898 per litre reflects import cost and dollar value
According to Dangote, the reason for the N898 per litre price on the initial supplies was because the crude used was imported for refining, which meant the price was based on its dollar value.
“It should also be noted that we sold the products to NNPCL in dollars with a lot of savings against what they are currently importing. With this action, there will be petrol in every“local government area of the country regardless of their remote nature,” Anthony Chiejina, Group Chief Branding and Communications Officer at Dangote stated.
Dangote slams NNPCL’s N898 per litre claim as “mischievous”
Chiejina described NNPCL’s claim of purchasing the product at N898 per litre as “misleading and mischievous”. The statement read, “This statement is both misleading and mischievous, deliberately aimed at undermining“the milestone achievement recorded today, September 15, 2024, towards addressing“energy insufficiency and insecurity, which has bedeviled the economy in the past 50 years.
According to earlier statements by Mr Olufemi Soneye, Chief Corporate Communications Officer at NNPC Limited, the product was bought at N898 per litre, a figure that contradicts the N766 per litre price reported elsewhere.
Dangote urges Nigerians to wait for official pricing update
For further clarity, Dangote said, “Our attention has been drawn to a statement attributed to NNPCL spokesperson, Mr Olufemi Soneye, that we sell our PMS at N898 per f to the NNPCL.
“We urge Nigerians to disregard this malicious statement and await a formal announcement on the pricing, by the Technical Sub-Committee on Naira-based crude“sales to local refineries, appointed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu which will commence on October 1, 2024, bearing in mind that our current stock of crude was procured in dollars.
Dangote guarantees quality petrol despite initial shortfall
“We assure Nigerians of availability of quality petroleum product and putting an end to the“endemic fuel scarcity in the country.”
Meanwhile, there were suggestions that Nigeria's fuel shortage might continue due to a 38.8 percent shortfall in the initial delivery of premium motor spirit (PMS) from Dangote Refinery to NNPCL on Sunday, September 15.
This is due to the fact that the 650,000 barrels per day (bpd) refinery was expected to supply 25 million litres of petrol to NNPCL but has only managed to deliver 16.8 million litres so far.
“N1,000/ltr?” NNPC introduces new petrol prices following Dangote refinery’s supply
Meanwhile, TheRadar earlier reported that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) updated petrol prices nationwide.
The prices were influenced by supply from Dangote Refinery and negotiated, not government-fixed, per the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).