Oil marketers have confirmed plans to start lifting Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) from the Dangote Petroleum Refinery next week. Some have already begun sending trucks to the Lagos-based plant, while others will arrive any day from next week. Additionally, some dealers expect imported petrol by the end of this month.
The initial daily supply from the refinery is anticipated to be 25 million litres. Oil marketers have begun preparations to load their trucks with petrol from the plant, despite President of Dangote Group Aliko Dangote’s recent announcement that only NNPC would initially lift PMS from the refinery.
One major marketer stated, “We should start loading from the plant next week. Many marketers are also planning to import petrol before the end of the month.” The source also noted that the deregulation of PMS prices has fully taken effect, with many marketers preferring to bypass NNPC’s control.
Regarding the pricing of Dangote petrol, there is no final agreement yet, but expectations are set around N1,200/litre. The market for this product is anticipated to be robust due to dissatisfaction with NNPC.
Last week, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Heineken Lokpobiri confirmed the full deregulation of the downstream oil sector, stating that the government is no longer setting petroleum prices. This followed NNPC’s recent price hikes from about N620/litre to as high as N855 and N897/litre, depending on the purchase location.
The National President of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Abubakar Maigandi, confirmed that many marketers are preparing to import petrol and load from the Dangote refinery, though he did not disclose the expected prices.
Spokespersons for Dangote Refinery and NNPC have not yet responded to inquiries regarding the details of the pricing and supply agreements.
