Dangote free to sell petrol to any marketer, NNPC not sole offtaker – Official

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) on Saturday said it is not the sole offtaker of all products from the Dangote Refinery. It said the refinery is free to sell its petrol to any marketer.

Olufemi Soneye, the chief corporate communications officer of NNPC Ltd, disclosed this in a statement on Saturday.

The NNPC Ltd made this known in reaction to a statement that the Dangote Refinery Limited is being undermined by actions of the company.

On Friday, the Muslim Rights Concern, MURIC, claimed that recent changes to the pump price of petrol will prevent the Dangote Refinery from offering lower prices and that NNPC Ltd has become the sole offtaker of all products from the refinery.

In its statement on Saturday, the NNPC said the pricing of petroleum products from any refinery, including the Dangote Refinery, is determined by global market forces, noting that the recent changes in petrol prices have no impact on Dangote Refinery or any other domestic refinery’s access to the Nigerian market.

“The attention of the NNPC Ltd has been drawn to a press release by the Muslim Rights Concern, MURIC, which claims that the Dangote Refinery Limited (DRL) is being undermined by actions of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd). Specifically, MURIC asserts that recent changes to the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) will prevent the Dangote Refinery from offering lower prices and that NNPC Ltd has become the sole offtaker of all products from the refinery.

“To set the records straight, NNPC Ltd wishes to further state as follows: The pricing of petroleum products from any refinery, including the Dangote Refinery Ltd (DRL), is determined by global market forces.

“The recent changes in PMS prices have no impact on the DRL or any other domestic refinery’s access to the Nigerian market,” Mr Soneye said.

The NNPC spokesperson said if current prices are perceived as high, it presents an ideal opportunity for the refinery to sell its products at lower prices in the Nigerian market.

“Furthermore, we emphasise that there is no guarantee of lower prices associated with domestic refining compared to any global parity pricing framework, as confirmed by the Dangote Refinery Limited.”

He said the NNPC Ltd will only fully offtake petrol from the Dangote Refinery if the market prices of petrol are higher than the pump prices in Nigeria.

He explained that the Dangote Refinery and any other domestic refinery are free to sell directly to any marketer on a willing buyer, willing seller basis, which is the current practice for all fully deregulated products.

He added that NNPC Ltd has no desire or intention to become the distributor for any entity in a free market environment, and therefore, the notion of becoming a sole offtaker does not arise.

“The NNPC Ltd cannot undermine a business in which it holds a billion-dollar stake. As an advocacy group for fair and just treatment, MURIC should have verified the facts before making statements that are entirely flawed and have the potential to incite ordinary Nigerians against the NNPC Ltd,” he said.

On Monday, Devakumar Edwin, vice president at Dangote Industries Limited, said the 650,000 barrels per day Dangote Refinery has begun the processing of petrol.

Mr Edwin explained that the NNPC Ltd, Nigeria’s sole importer, would buy its product exclusively.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, the President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, said the petrol refined from the refinery would hit filling stations across the country within 48 hours, depending on the NNPC Ltd.