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.
