- Oil marketers are set to import petrol due to insufficient output from the Dangote Petroleum Refinery
- Festus Osifo of the Trade Union Congress emphasised the need for alternative petrol sources amid production shortfalls
- The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria reportedly acquired tank farms in Calabar and Lagos for petrol importation
Oil marketers have announced plans to import Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) popularly called petrol, to supplement the supply from the Dangote Petroleum Refinery.
The oil dealers reported on Tuesday, October 15, that the $20 billion Lekki-based refinery is currently insufficient to meet the country's domestic fuel demand.
Independent petroleum marketers set to begin petrol imports
The National Vice President of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Hammed Fashola, revealed that the association secured two tank farms in Calabar and Lagos for PMS importation, according to a report from The PUNCH.
“We have acquired a tank farm in Calabar and another one in Lagos. We are positioning ourselves for the new era. We will not disclose the capacity of the tank farms now.
“We are free to start importation. With the new development, we are going to get our import licence soon, even as we are going to get a licence to buy from Dangote. So, it’s good to have two or three places to source your products from,” Fashola stated.
Osifo emphasises the need for additional petrol supply
During a recent briefing in Abuja, President of the Trade Union Congress, Festus Osifo, called on the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to seek out refined petrol from other suppliers if the Dangote refinery is unable to meet the nation’s current fuel demands.
“If it (petrol) is not available, it is a problem. If, for example, the production from Dangote Refinery is less than 15 million litres per day, it is not sufficient.
“So, while efforts are being made to ramp up production from Dangote Refinery, what we are demanding is that we should look for every other means as we are ramping up production, we should source for that difference and bring it in for a while until Dangote can get to that level where the production is sufficient to get to all nooks and crannies of Nigeria.
“For us, that is key because it will address the issue of availability,” Osifo stated.
Industry insiders question actual production levels at Dangote refinery
According to The PUNCH, a major oil marketer has claimed that Dangote's refinery is currently producing about 10 million litres of petrol. However, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has reported that Nigeria's daily demand for petrol stands at about 40 million litres.
“There is a lot of confusion in the industry. Even the Dangote refinery, the actual volume of PMS that comes out from there right now is not up to what it claims to be producing,” a major oil marketer.
“I reliably confirmed that they are not refining up to 10 million litres of PMS daily. And even for AGO (diesel), they don’t have enough volumes. We are in confusion right now in the downstream oil sector.
“And it may shock you to know that NNPCL does not have any vessel now that is coming, which could be used to augment what Dangote is producing. As we speak now, I don’t think they have vessels coming into the country with products. And this is because of the Dangote refinery but the refinery is not producing enough,” the major oil marketer told The PUNCH.
New Petrol Price: NNPCL, IPMAN reach agreement on fresh figure after DSS intervention
Meanwhile, TheRadar earlier reported that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has reached an agreement to sell petrol to members of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) at N995 per litre.
This resolution came after the Department of State Services (DSS) stepped in to mediate the ongoing dispute between the two parties.