Petrol Marketers Complained To Tinubu That Our Price Is Too Cheap – Dangote Refinery

Reports are that Marketers of petroleum products in Nigeria have expressed their concerns to President Bola Tinubu regarding the recent decrease in the price of diesel from Dangote Refinery, which has fallen to N900 per litre.

They believe this decline is adversely affecting their operations.

This development was disclosed to newsmen by Devakumar Edwin, Vice President of Dangote Industries Limited.

Edwin told NairaMetrics that the local prices for petroleum products have decreased from N1,200 to N1,000, and now to N900 per litre, which is creating challenges for marketers in the industry.

Edwin also pointed out some of the difficulties faced by the Dangote Refinery and how these issues are influencing fuel supply and pricing in Nigeria. He mentioned that the refinery, situated in the Lekki Free Zone near Lagos, is currently struggling to sell approximately 29 tankers of diesel daily due to reduced demand from local petroleum product importers.

“As a result of this poor local patronage, the refinery exports most of its diesel and aviation fuel,” he said.

Edwin had earlier said Dangote Refinery products would be exported if the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and other petroleum dealers in the country refuse to patronise it.

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“We have been exporting aviation fuel, we have been producing kerosene, we have been producing diesel, but yesterday, we started the production of PMS. So, that was the last stage. The only thing now left out is petrochemicals.”

“So, the good news for the country is we have started producing PMS from our refinery,” he had said on a radio programme.

Asked if the petrol would be sold locally, Edwin replied, “Well, I explained how there has been a kind of a blockade from lifting our products within the country. The traders have been trying to block (it), and so now we have been exporting our petroleum products. PMS, we are ready to pump in 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 conveyed his astonishment regarding the unforeseen challenges the company encountered as the refinery was about to begin operations.

He reminisced about the original philosophy, which aimed to enhance the value of the country’s raw materials, lamenting that, after more than thirty years, Nigeria continues to export crude oil while importing refined petroleum products.

The intent was to process the crude domestically, thereby adding value, exporting the finished products, and supplying them locally. Regrettably, we began to experience difficulties with the supply of crude oil.

“What is happening today? We are struggling to get the crude. We are now importing the crude from the US, we are importing from Brazil, and from other parts of the world. So, the whole philosophy has gone upside down. After all these decades, we are exporting crude, importing products,” he added.

“The same thing is continuing. We are not getting enough crude allocation, and the crude is still being exported. We are forced to import crude from outside. Yes, we are getting some crude locally, but it’s not adequate.”

It is important to highlight that the Dangote Refinery, which has a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, commenced naphtha exports in March, followed by low-sulphur straight run fuel oil (LSSR) exports in May, and initiated the domestic sale of diesel and jet fuel in April.

In June, the refinery began exporting diesel fuel that complies with European specifications.