The Dangote refinery may resort to exporting its Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) following the refusal of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited to be the sole buyer of its product.

The NNPC, in a statement by its spokesman, Olufemi Soneye, said on Saturday that it would not buy Dangote fuel unless it was cheaper than that of the international market.

This is contrary to claims by the President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, that the refinery was waiting for the NNPC to roll out its product.

On Saturday, the NNPC stated that it would only fully offtake petrol from the refinery if the market prices of PMS were higher than the pump prices in Nigeria.
The NNPC also declared that Dangote and other domestic refineries were free to sell directly to any marketer on a willing buyer, willing seller basis, adding that it had no desire or intention to become the distributor for any entity in a free market environment.

The company was reacting to a press release by the Muslim Rights Concern, which claimed that the Dangote refinery was being undermined by the NNPC.

MURIC stated that recent changes to the pump price of petrol by the NNPC would prevent the refinery from offering lower prices, and that the corporation had become the sole offtaker of all products from the refinery.


Responding, the NNPC said, “The pricing of petroleum products from any refinery, including Dangote Refinery Limited, is determined by global market forces.

“The recent changes in PMS prices have no impact on DRL or any other domestic refinery’s access to the Nigerian market. In fact, 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 DRL. The NNPC Ltd will only fully offtake PMS from the DRL if the market prices of PMS are higher than the pump prices in Nigeria. The DRL 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. 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 off-taker does not arise.”

Soneye added that the NNPC could not undermine a business in which it held a billion-dollar investment.

Dangote’s wait

While unveiling the 650,000-capacity refinery on Tuesday, Dangote had stated that the facility would roll out petrol whenever the NNPC was ready.

Dangote disclosed that petrol would get to the filling stations in the next 48 hours (from Tuesday) after all arrangements with the NNPC were concluded, adding that the queues would soon be over.


“Our PMS can be in filling stations within the next 48 hours, depending on NNPCL,” he said.

He spoke further, “We are ready. I pray that within the next few days, you won’t see any petroleum queues as soon as we finalise with NNPC. We are ready, we are waiting for them (NNPC) and I hope they will be ready like yesterday.”

Dangote told newsmen that he could not disclose the price of the petrol because the NNPC was in a position to control it.

“On the pricing, I can’t say anything because we don’t control the pricing. At the moment, it is controlled by NNPC, not Dangote. We will wait for them. But, our own for now is to make sure that the product is available and round-tripping is stopped,” he noted.

The businessman emphasised that the NNPC was the company that would sell and distribute the product under the current naira crude sale arrangement.

“Once the NNPC is ready, we roll. We are even ready to load a ship this week,” he added.

Product export

But it seems the talk between the two companies have collapsed, which may result in the company selling its petrol abroad.

The NNPC has issued several statements denying that it will fix the price for Dangote or be its sole off-taker, even as the refinery has yet to roll out its product.

Nigerians have wondered why the NNPC decided to hike the pump price of petrol the same day Dangote refinery unveiled its petrol, after several months of implicit subsidy payment.

The masses, who were hopeful that the Dangote fuel would crash the price of petrol, may be losing hope.

Speaking on the Brekete Family live show on Monday, the Vice President of Oil and Gas at Dangote Industries Limited, Devakumar Edwin, said Dangote petrol would be exported if the NNPC and other petroleum dealers in the country refused to patronise it.

Asked if the petrol would be sold locally, Edwin replied, “There has been a kind of a blockade from lifting our products within the country. The traders have been trying to blockade, and so now, we have been exporting our petroleum products. We are ready to pump in PMS as much as possible to the country.

“But if the traders or NNPC are not buying the product, obviously we will end up exporting the PMS as we are doing with the aviation jet and diesel,” he .declared.


Edwin expressed surprise that the company started facing challenges it never expected when the refinery was set to commence operations.

He recalled that the philosophy initially was to add value to the raw materials available in the country, regretting that Nigeria was still exporting crude and importing refined petroleum products after over three decades.

Despite having a gantry that can load 2,900 tankers per day, Edwin disclosed that the refinery had not loaded up to five per cent of the gantry’s capacity owing to low local patronage.

In an interview with our correspondent, a professor of Economics at the University of Ibadan and President of the Nigerian Economics Society, Adeola Adenikinju, advised that the government and the NNPC should buy PMS from the Dangote refinery instead of importing from another country.

“Dangote refinery is a private business; he will export to where he can make money. He cannot be subsidising our economy. It is still going to be cheaper for the NNPC to buy from Dangote than to import from Europe. Dangote has to run the business and pay his debts, he can’t subsidise us,” Adenikinju noted.

IPMAN ready to buy fuel

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria on Saturday said it would buy PMS from Dangote at any price, even if the NNPC refused to buy.

Petrol price hike will worsen inflation
The National President of the association, Abubakar Maigandi, told our correspondent that the independent marketers were ready to patronise Dangote.

“Whatever the case, if Dangote starts selling his product, we are going to patronise him; if at all he wants to do business with us.

“We are ready to buy at any price because the NNPC is saying that they don’t want to involve themselves in fixing prices. So, at any price that he wants to sell, we are ready to buy and discharge and sell at a good price,” Maigandi stated.

Members of IPMAN own about 80 per cent of the filling stations in Nigeria, especially in rural communities.

On Thursday, the NNPC also said it was waiting for a September 15 timeline given to it by the refinery.

However, the latest comments from the NNPC indicate all is not well with the negotiations between the two companies.

The spokesman for the Dangote Group, Anthony Chiejina, did not answer calls or reply messages sent to him by our correspondent on Saturday.

Black marketers sell fuel N1,400 in Benue

Meanwhile, black marketers are making brisk business as most filling stations in Makurdi, the Benue State capital, closed for business.

Our correspondent, who monitored the situation in Makurdi on Saturday, observed that several filling stations were not operating while black marketers were using their frontage to sell the product to motorists.

The product was sold between N1,300 and N1,400 per litre.
Despite the promise made by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Heineken Lokpobiri, that fuel would be available in filling stations by the weekend, the situation in Ondo State has not improved..

Also, some stations of the independent marketers were selling for between N950 and N1,100 per litre..

But the price was between N950 and N1,200 per litre at the stations dispensing petrol.

Long queues of vehicles were at the few stations selling the product at between N950 and N960 per litre..”

Filling stations belonging to major marketers in Ogun State sold fuel for between N868 and N890 per litre, while independent marketers sold for between N950 and N1,200 per litre.

The NNPC outlets, however, sold at N865 per litre.

As of September 7, 2024, independent marketers in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, were dispensing fuel at N1,100 and N1,200 per litre. There were no long queues in most of the filling stations in the city

Long queues still persisted in most of the filling stations in Zamfara State, despite the hike in fuel price.

Most of the filling stations, controlled by IPMAN in Gusau town and other parts of the state, were selling a litre of fuel between N1,100 and N1,150.

There was no fuel in all the mega stations visited by Sunday PUNCH as of the time of filing this report.

Despite the scarcity of PMS in some states, the product seemed to be available in most filling stations across the 13 LGAs of Nasarawa State.
.
The prices of PMS in Obi, Awe, Keana, Doma, Toto and Nassarawa Eggon LGAs had skyrocketed to N1,100 per litre.

Filling stations such as Sandaji, Hayattu, Alh Dauda Muhammadu, Nagoda, Rainoil among others, all sold at N990 per litre.
Meanwhile, the product is currently being sold between N1,200 and 1,400 by the black market dealers in several locations across the state.

https://punchng.com/nnpc-conditions-dangote-refinery-may-dump-local-market-export-petrol/

His business, his decision

helinues:
His business, his decision

We can all see that Tinubu is wicked and heartless.

AgoodSamaritan:
We can all see that Tinubu is wicked and heartless.

You are more heartless, wicked and just so chronic bitter far more than whoever you might be accusing.

If you are not heartless, wicked and bitter, why should you be creating daily monikers just to troll others?

How about the forum statistics you have been manipulating with all those wasted trolling monikers?

Are you cursed with the years of trolling ? If no, why are you deliberately wasting your life and time away on NL inside the beautiful life?

helinues:


You are more heartless, wicked and just so chronic bitter far more than whoever you might be accusing.

If you are not heartless, wicked and bitter, why should you be creating daily minikers just to troll others?

How about the forum statistics you have been manipulating with all those wasted trolling monikers?

Are you cursed with the years of trolling ? If no, why are you deliberately wasting your life and time away on NL inside the beautiful life?

You are making a big mistake. Stop referring to me as a troll. I'm a good Samaritan that just want to help your life ok. Do you need a job?

Good decision.

Solar is already coming and coming with full force.

His refinery will very soon become useless and a waste.

Something sounds fishy here. Why is Dangote a private entity insisting that the NNPC should determine the price dangote sells petrol?

onatisi:
The Dangote refinery may resort to exporting its Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) following the refusal of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited to be the sole buyer of its product.

The NNPC, in a statement by its spokesman, Olufemi Soneye, said on Saturday that it would not buy Dangote fuel unless it was cheaper than that of the international market.

This is contrary to claims by the President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, that the refinery was waiting for the NNPC to roll out its product.

On Saturday, the NNPC stated that it would only fully offtake petrol from the refinery if the market prices of PMS were higher than the pump prices in Nigeria.
The NNPC also declared that Dangote and other domestic refineries were free to sell directly to any marketer on a willing buyer, willing seller basis, adding that it had no desire or intention to become the distributor for any entity in a free market environment.

The company was reacting to a press release by the Muslim Rights Concern, which claimed that the Dangote refinery was being undermined by the NNPC.

MURIC stated that recent changes to the pump price of petrol by the NNPC would prevent the refinery from offering lower prices, and that the corporation had become the sole offtaker of all products from the refinery.


Responding, the NNPC said, “The pricing of petroleum products from any refinery, including Dangote Refinery Limited, is determined by global market forces.

“The recent changes in PMS prices have no impact on DRL or any other domestic refinery’s access to the Nigerian market. In fact, 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 DRL. The NNPC Ltd will only fully offtake PMS from the DRL if the market prices of PMS are higher than the pump prices in Nigeria. The DRL 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. 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 off-taker does not arise.”

Soneye added that the NNPC could not undermine a business in which it held a billion-dollar investment.

Dangote’s wait

While unveiling the 650,000-capacity refinery on Tuesday, Dangote had stated that the facility would roll out petrol whenever the NNPC was ready.

Dangote disclosed that petrol would get to the filling stations in the next 48 hours (from Tuesday) after all arrangements with the NNPC were concluded, adding that the queues would soon be over.


“Our PMS can be in filling stations within the next 48 hours, depending on NNPCL,” he said.

He spoke further, “We are ready. I pray that within the next few days, you won’t see any petroleum queues as soon as we finalise with NNPC. We are ready, we are waiting for them (NNPC) and I hope they will be ready like yesterday.”

Dangote told newsmen that he could not disclose the price of the petrol because the NNPC was in a position to control it.

“On the pricing, I can’t say anything because we don’t control the pricing. At the moment, it is controlled by NNPC, not Dangote. We will wait for them. But, our own for now is to make sure that the product is available and round-tripping is stopped,” he noted.

The businessman emphasised that the NNPC was the company that would sell and distribute the product under the current naira crude sale arrangement.

“Once the NNPC is ready, we roll. We are even ready to load a ship this week,” he added.

Product export

But it seems the talk between the two companies have collapsed, which may result in the company selling its petrol abroad.

The NNPC has issued several statements denying that it will fix the price for Dangote or be its sole off-taker, even as the refinery has yet to roll out its product.

Nigerians have wondered why the NNPC decided to hike the pump price of petrol the same day Dangote refinery unveiled its petrol, after several months of implicit subsidy payment.

The masses, who were hopeful that the Dangote fuel would crash the price of petrol, may be losing hope.

Speaking on the Brekete Family live show on Monday, the Vice President of Oil and Gas at Dangote Industries Limited, Devakumar Edwin, said Dangote petrol would be exported if the NNPC and other petroleum dealers in the country refused to patronise it.

Asked if the petrol would be sold locally, Edwin replied, “There has been a kind of a blockade from lifting our products within the country. The traders have been trying to blockade, and so now, we have been exporting our petroleum products. We are ready to pump in PMS as much as possible to the country.

“But if the traders or NNPC are not buying the product, obviously we will end up exporting the PMS as we are doing with the aviation jet and diesel,” he .declared.


Edwin expressed surprise that the company started facing challenges it never expected when the refinery was set to commence operations.

He recalled that the philosophy initially was to add value to the raw materials available in the country, regretting that Nigeria was still exporting crude and importing refined petroleum products after over three decades.

Despite having a gantry that can load 2,900 tankers per day, Edwin disclosed that the refinery had not loaded up to five per cent of the gantry’s capacity owing to low local patronage.

In an interview with our correspondent, a professor of Economics at the University of Ibadan and President of the Nigerian Economics Society, Adeola Adenikinju, advised that the government and the NNPC should buy PMS from the Dangote refinery instead of importing from another country.

“Dangote refinery is a private business; he will export to where he can make money. He cannot be subsidising our economy. It is still going to be cheaper for the NNPC to buy from Dangote than to import from Europe. Dangote has to run the business and pay his debts, he can’t subsidise us,” Adenikinju noted.

IPMAN ready to buy fuel

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria on Saturday said it would buy PMS from Dangote at any price, even if the NNPC refused to buy.

Petrol price hike will worsen inflation
The National President of the association, Abubakar Maigandi, told our correspondent that the independent marketers were ready to patronise Dangote.

“Whatever the case, if Dangote starts selling his product, we are going to patronise him; if at all he wants to do business with us.

“We are ready to buy at any price because the NNPC is saying that they don’t want to involve themselves in fixing prices. So, at any price that he wants to sell, we are ready to buy and discharge and sell at a good price,” Maigandi stated.

Members of IPMAN own about 80 per cent of the filling stations in Nigeria, especially in rural communities.

On Thursday, the NNPC also said it was waiting for a September 15 timeline given to it by the refinery.

However, the latest comments from the NNPC indicate all is not well with the negotiations between the two companies.

The spokesman for the Dangote Group, Anthony Chiejina, did not answer calls or reply messages sent to him by our correspondent on Saturday.

Black marketers sell fuel N1,400 in Benue

Meanwhile, black marketers are making brisk business as most filling stations in Makurdi, the Benue State capital, closed for business.

Our correspondent, who monitored the situation in Makurdi on Saturday, observed that several filling stations were not operating while black marketers were using their frontage to sell the product to motorists.

The product was sold between N1,300 and N1,400 per litre.
Despite the promise made by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Heineken Lokpobiri, that fuel would be available in filling stations by the weekend, the situation in Ondo State has not improved..

Also, some stations of the independent marketers were selling for between N950 and N1,100 per litre..

But the price was between N950 and N1,200 per litre at the stations dispensing petrol.

Long queues of vehicles were at the few stations selling the product at between N950 and N960 per litre..”

Filling stations belonging to major marketers in Ogun State sold fuel for between N868 and N890 per litre, while independent marketers sold for between N950 and N1,200 per litre.

The NNPC outlets, however, sold at N865 per litre.

As of September 7, 2024, independent marketers in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, were dispensing fuel at N1,100 and N1,200 per litre. There were no long queues in most of the filling stations in the city

Long queues still persisted in most of the filling stations in Zamfara State, despite the hike in fuel price.

Most of the filling stations, controlled by IPMAN in Gusau town and other parts of the state, were selling a litre of fuel between N1,100 and N1,150.

There was no fuel in all the mega stations visited by Sunday PUNCH as of the time of filing this report.

Despite the scarcity of PMS in some states, the product seemed to be available in most filling stations across the 13 LGAs of Nasarawa State.
.
The prices of PMS in Obi, Awe, Keana, Doma, Toto and Nassarawa Eggon LGAs had skyrocketed to N1,100 per litre.

Filling stations such as Sandaji, Hayattu, Alh Dauda Muhammadu, Nagoda, Rainoil among others, all sold at N990 per litre.
Meanwhile, the product is currently being sold between N1,200 and 1,400 by the black market dealers in several locations across the state.

https://punchng.com/nnpc-conditions-dangote-refinery-may-dump-local-market-export-petrol/

Dangote, forget NNPCL how much are you selling your refined products, NNPCL mark up shouldn't be your concern, be I understand you have increased your selling price making it difficult for NNPCL or any other marketer to buy from because the price would be too high

helinues:


You are more heartless, wicked and just so chronic bitter far more than whoever you might be accusing.

If you are not heartless, wicked and bitter, why should you be creating daily monikers just to troll others?

How about the forum statistics you have been manipulating with all those wasted trolling monikers?

Are you cursed with the years of trolling ? If no, why are you deliberately wasting your life and time away on NL inside the beautiful life?

Somebody has to troll you for you to have sense😂😂😂😂😂


Because, why will a sane person support Tinubu?

Because of his stupid policies and high taxation, I parked my car and only use it when necessary...

JASONjnr:


Somebody has to troll you for you to have sense😂😂😂😂😂


Because, why will a sane person support Tinubu?

Because of his stupid policies and high taxation, I parked my car and only use it when necessary...

Why are you lots encouraging the guy to continue wasting his own life away on NL all in the name of trolling.

Be sincere with yourself, would you create ordinary one moniker in a day just to troll others not to talk of creating on average of 5 monikers daily on the senseless trolling.

Definitely, your response would be when I am not mad. So stop encouraging the guy if not his situation would be so deteriorated that it won't be able to redeem anything again.

Time na money oo

The misunderstanding would be resolved amicably.

All parties involved in this case are not just stakeholders but major stakeholders in the Nigeria oil sector.

In summary what nnpc is saying is that they can't patronize dangote refinery if the price is not set above what they currently have...

That means they want to blackmail dangote to enable fuel subsidy...

Guys nnpc is the problem

These people are begging for breakdown of social order and a violent revolution. NNPC is wicked!

GBAREN:


Dangote, forget NNPCL how much are you selling your refined products, NNPCL mark up shouldn't be your concern, be I understand you have increased your selling price making it difficult for NNPCL or any other marketer to buy from because the price would be too high

I don't think that is the problem , let's not forget that Dangote is in Nigeria , now nnpc can no longer import and sell fuel petrol at 897, they don't want to be the first person to say this,they want to heap the whole blame of the next fuel price hike on Dangote , they want Dangote to bring his rate which will definitely be at global rate , then they will say they are following Dangote leading . Dangote international price does not concern Nigeria market, because Dangote is buying his crude in dollars so he will be selling in dollars to the international market.
The million dollar question which is puzzling is WHY HASNT NNPC MADE A PRICE BARGAIN WITH DANGOTE SINCE ALL THESE DAYS ?

EasternActivist:
In summary what nnpc is saying is that they can't patronize dangote refinery if the price is not set above what they currently have...

That means they want to blackmail dangote to enable fuel subsidy...

Guys nnpc is the problem

The fg is controlling NNPC . Tinubu is the problem . They want to use Dangote as a scapegoat for all their failures.Dangote should just forget the local market and sell his products to other countries and let NNPC and Tinubu clear the mess they have made

This is a business decision by Dangote and NNPC. May God bless Nigeria for ever!

Why is that we are so disinformed and be deceiving in this country.

Hmmm! Money matter

The Senate should make Laws that would stop NNPC from Monopolist exploitation and constitute an external body to regulate it
It's first remit should be to make sure Nigerians are all adequately supplied with Oil
needed to move economic activity forward

helinues:
His business, his decision

Nigerian only hope

I don't know much, but I am inclined to believe that the power players in the industry want to keep fuel prices as high as it can be. How else can that happen if Dangote chooses to sell it's product locally? Exporting products and importing it back is the only way to achieve that.

I saw this coming.

"On Saturday, the NNPC stated that it would only fully offtake petrol from the refinery if the market prices of PMS were higher than the pump prices in Nigeria"

I knew that the moment NNPC decides to be the sole buyer, they will try to make the price so high so much that Nigeria will start to wonder if Dangote ref has brought succour or hardship.

Now they probably want Dangote to be the one to announce fuel price so Nigerians will hold him responsible for price hike...

Dangote wants NNPC to announce price since they are the ones selling to Nigerians but NNPC don't want to take the heat from Nigerians.

If Dangote is given the freedom as a private entity to sell at his desired price to any marketer he wants be it agip, con oil and so on, I bet Nigerians will have respite.

But as we all know, NNPC is a currupt system and they will always want to make insane detrimental profits, they will do whatever they can to stop dangote from supplying the fuel at his desired price.

otherway:

I saw this coming.

"On Saturday, the NNPC stated that it would only fully offtake petrol from the refinery if the market prices of PMS were higher than the pump prices in Nigeria"

I knew that the moment NNPC decides to be the sole buyer, they will try to make the price so high so much that Nigeria will start to wonder if Dangote ref has brought succour or hardship.

Now they probably want Dangote to be the one to announce fuel price so Nigerians will hold him responsible for price hike...

Dangote wants NNPC to announce price since they are the ones selling to Nigerians but NNPC don't want to take the heat from Nigerians.

If Dangote is given the freedom as a private entity to sell at his desired price to any marketer he wants be it agip, con oil and so on, I bet Nigerians will have respite.

But as we all know, NNPC is a currupt system and they will always want to make insane detrimental profits, they will do whatever they can to stop dangote from supplying the fuel at his desired price.

But nnpc said he's is free to sell to any marketer. I know it won't come cheap, nothing from Dangote is ever cheap.

JASONjnr:


Somebody has to troll you for you to have sense😂😂😂😂😂


Because, why will a sane person support Tinubu?

Because of his stupid policies and high taxation, I parked my car and only use it when necessary...

Oga everything is not Tinubu, some of you on Nairaland behave like illiterates, why can't Dangote sell his PMS to independent marketers, is that also Tinubus fault?

Do you guys think at all?

So Nigeria sold oil to Dangote in naira only for some people to frustrate the process at the point of earning our rewards?

They'll sell to foreign countries and we'll then import from there.

Some people are evil personified.