The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has mobilised 100 trucks to lift premium motor spirit (PMS) from Dangote Refinery on Sunday, September 15.
“In preparation for the Dangote Refinery’s scheduled petrol loading on Sunday, September 15, 2024, NNPC Ltd. has been mobilizing trucks to the refinery’s fuel loading gantry in Ibeju-Lekki. As of Saturday afternoon, NNPC Ltd. had deployed over 100 trucks, with hundreds more en route,” NNPC said on its X handle on Saturday.
BusinessDay had reported on Friday that marketers would start lifting PMS, also known as petrol, on Sunday as Dangote’s $20 billion refinery gets ready to start petrol distribution across the nation to reduce scarcity.
Dangote petrol won’t be cheap
There was euphoria when Nigerians learnt that the Lagos-based refinery built by Africa’s richest man, Mr Aliko Dangote, would come on board. Several Nigerians thought there would be cheap petrol from the refinery but analysts have said that would not be the case.
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“Nobody should expect that the Dangote Refinery is going to make petrol cheaper in Nigeria. It is going to make it more available at any point in time,” Chief Executive Officer, Financial Derivatives Company, Mr Bismark Rewane, said in a 2022 interview with Arise TV.
Mr Rewane said Dangote Petroleum Refinery was technically and theoretically outside Nigeria as it is situated at the export processing zone.
“We have a deep sea ports where the ships will take the refined products. But rather than buy from Amsterdam, we will buy from Dangote and ship to Atlas Cove, Bonny and Port Harcourt.
“The saving to the Nigeria economy is that rather than ship a tanker from Amsterdam to Nigeria, we will be shipping it from Lekki. Another savings is because Dangote refinery is 45 percent more efficient than other refineries because of its cutting edge technology. This will further reduce the cost.”
According to an economist, Mr Odia Obioakpor, petrol is an international product and will be treated that way by Dangote.
“Yes, there won’t be several costs such as freight and import logistics, but petrol is an international product. Dangote refinery will sell at an international price unless there are local subsidies provided by the government to the refinery to make it more efficient. That is the only way it can be cheaper,” Mr Obioakpor said.
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The Punch quoted National President of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Abubakar Maigandi, as saying that he was still not sure of Dangote’s petrol’s price.
“I cannot tell you the price from Dangote and that of the landing cost for imported products for now. But since the government is now serious about deregulating the downstream oil sector fully, we are also going to start importing PMS,” Maigandi said.
